One Fluffy Month
by pdlbean
Summary: A new fluffy B&B one-shot every day for one month, from Thanksgiving to Christmas. A word from a random word generator inspires each fic. Come join the fun, won't you?
1. Dot

**So, every day for one month, starting on Thanksgiving and ending on Christmas, I've decided to write a new fluffy as can be one-shot. I'll be using a random word generator and the first word that comes up as inspiration. Join me on my journey, won't you? I'm going to try to keep all of these in a single universe.**

Dot

Brennan came out of a deep sleep, annoyed that she had been torn from a particularly nice dream. Let's just say it involved Booth and not very many items of clothing. It took her a moment to recognize the sound that had roused her from her sleep. Finally, it registered that her phone was ringing. She reached over to the nightstand and glanced at the caller ID. She smiled when she saw "Booth" displayed on the screen. "Hi," she greeted as she stretched.

"I woke you up," Booth observed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Babe." Brennan yawned and took a second to reply.

"No, it's okay," she assured him. "The other half of the bed is cold," she observed. "I find that I would prefer it to be warm. Preferably by your body heat." Booth chuckled.

"I miss you too," he told her earnestly. "But I'll be home soon." Brennan smiled. She knew it was illogical because she spoke to him at least twice a day, but she missed Booth in a very profound, physical way. Booth was out of town training new FBI agents in firearms at Quantico and had been gone for three weeks. What made it worse was that he was supposed to be home two days ago and today was Thanksgiving. Brennan couldn't imagine spending it without him. It would be the first time since before they were a couple that they wouldn't be together for the holiday. Now that they were married, the prospect just seemed wrong to both of them. Plus, there was another reason they didn't want to be apart any more than they had to be. "You had your doctor's appointment this afternoon, right?" Booth asked.

"Yes," Brennan confirmed. "Everything is fine." Brennan was only seven weeks along in her pregnancy. She found out she was pregnant a week after Booth left, and had initially decided to wait until he came home to tell him, but she wasn't able to contain herself and blurted it out the very next time he called.

"I wish I could've been there," Booth said with a little catch in his voice. He knew he would be there for the bulk of the pregnancy, but he didn't want to miss a second of this journey he was taking with the love of his life.

"There isn't much to see at this stage, Booth," Brennan assured him, "or anything to hear. The heartbeat is usually not audible on a Doppler until the ninth week of gestation. You'll be home by then."

"I still wish I could've been there," Booth insisted. "Hey, it's past midnight!" he announced suddenly. "Happy Thanksgiving, Bones!" Brennan grinned and chuckled.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Booth."

"Are you ready for the big dinner?" Booth asked with a hint of teasing in his voice.

"I believe so," Brennan answered. "My father, Russ, Amy and the girls will be coming in this morning. Angela and Hodgins have decided to join us this year. I have almost everything I need to prepare the dinner. I only need to make one more trip to the market this morning to get a few more things."

"Sounds like it'll be a great Thanksgiving," Booth said happily.

"Except you won't be here," Brennan replied somberly. There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, I have a surprise for you," Booth said after a moment. Brennan rolled her eyes. She despised surprises.

"What, Booth?" she asked with as much mock disdain as she could muster.

"Trust me, Bones, you're gonna love this!" Booth assured her. "Go downstairs. I think you'll like what you see on the front porch." Brennan reluctantly left the coziness of her bed and walked down the stairs of her new house. The house she and Booth had purchased together only eight months ago. Their home to be a family in. There were four bedrooms, theirs, Parker's, a guest room, and one that would soon become a nursery. Brennan marveled at the thought. She walked through the entryway to her front door and opened it.

Booth beamed his most charming of charm smiles as Brennan opened the door. "Surprise, Baby!" he exclaimed. Brennan all but squealed and launched herself into his arms. Booth laughed and kissed her on the temple. When she finally finished trying to squeeze the life out of him she gave him a long, lingering kiss. "I missed you so much," Booth whispered in her ear. Brennan's only response was to hug him tightly again. Brennan finally allowed him through the front door and he set his suitcases down. He settled himself on the couch and just looked at Brennan for a long moment. He never knew that three weeks could feel like a lifetime.

"How did the training go?" Brennan asked as she snuggled into his side and he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Great," Booth replied. "Those guys really have a lot of heart. They're all going to make great agents." Brennan smiled.

"Well, they had a good teacher," she said earnestly. "I have something for you." She got up and returned a moment later with a picture in her hand. She handed it to Booth with a very un-Brennan-like giddiness.

Booth looked down at the picture and his heart leapt into his throat. It was Brennan's first ultrasound. She pointed out the tiny dot that was their baby and he had to fight back tears. "This is incredible," he said with awe. Brennan sat back down next to him and snuggled close. Booth kissed her softly. "Happy Thanksgiving. I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth." Booth looked back down at the ultrasound. Right now their child was only a dot, but to them it was the most beautiful dot in the world.

**What do you think? OOC? Adorable? Too much? I want to hear from you! Look for a new one tomorrow!**


	2. Frightening

**I know the "nightmare" thing has been done to death, but I've always kind of wanted to do my own version of it. So here's today word of the day, ****Frightening.**

Frightening

She has a lot of nightmares. They come in a lot of different varieties. Sometimes they're about herself. This is when she dreams about being buried alive in that car or being tied up and fed to dogs. But usually they aren't about her. Most of the time she dreams about him. She dreams that he's drowning and she can't get to him. She dreams he's on a ship and it explodes and she's just seconds too late. But this dream was the worst. She hadn't had it in months. Perhaps it's been over a year since it haunted her. And now it was back, for whatever reason.

_She's in the crowd of a karaoke bar. She sees herself on the stage; she's singing a song she can't quite hear. She sees him in the audience, watching her sing. He's smiling and she smiles back, happy to see that he's having such a great time. She sees the woman enter and tries to warn the version of herself on the stage, but no sound comes out. The gun is pointed at her chest, and finally she's able to scream, but it doesn't alert the image of herself. Instead, it only makes him turn around. He sees the woman with the gun and steps in the way of the bullet already on its path. It hits him directly in the chest and both versions of her run toward him. The version who was onstage gets to him and starts yelling his name, but he's unresponsive. The more she runs, the farther away he is from her. She can't reach him and all she wants to do is hold him and tell him everything is going to be okay. But most of all, she wants to tell him she loves him. She has the terrible feeling that she's going to be without him for a very long time, and she won't get the chance to tell him again. He's lost so much blood that it's pooling at her feet. All she can do is scream his name…_

"Booth!" Brennan sat bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily. It had been a long time since she'd had that particular dream. She scrambled for the phone on her nightstand so she could call him and assure herself that he was okay. She couldn't find her phone on the nightstand and began to panic. She looked around and realized that she wasn't even in her own apartment. It took her a second to remember that she was sleeping over at Booth's tonight. She felt strong arms around her and was almost instantly calmed. There would be no need to call him and only have his voice for comfort. He was right here next to her.

"Shhh, Bones. It's okay," he soothed her as he lay them both back down. After a minute of letting her calm down, he decided to ask the question that was nagging at him. "Do you want to tell me about it? Was it the drowning dream again?"

"No," Brennan replied, still feeling anxious from the dream. "It was the Checkerbox." Booth squeezed her tighter. He knew that was the one that affected her the most. He still felt guilty about the two weeks she thought he was dead. It was a time she never discussed. It was as if she was pretending that the whole thing never happened.

"Booth?" Her voice was softer than usual. The vulnerability in it made Booth's heart sink.

"Yeah, Bones?" he replied. Brennan's grip on him tightened.

"This time it was different. Instead of wanting to save your life, I wanted to tell you that I loved you. But you couldn't hear me." All rational pretenses were gone from her demeanor. She was like a scared little girl in Booth's arms, and it terrified him. Usually she tried to rationalize the dream away after a minute or two of rest. But that wasn't happening this time.

"Bones, I know you love me, okay?" Booth assured her. "It doesn't matter that you don't say it. You tell me every day with your actions." Brennan shook her head.

"No, I should say it. You've said it several times. In a relationship it's customary for the sentiment to be reciprocated when one person tells the other that they love them." Booth chuckled, glad that Brennan's usual manner of speaking had returned. "I love you, Booth."

"I know, Bones," Booth replied and kissed her on the head. "But thank you for saying it. I love you too."

"Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?"

"It's not as frightening anymore." Booth looked down at her, waiting for her to explain. "Usually when I wake up, I'm alone. You're in your own apartment and I have to call you. Now when I wake up, you're here. I like that." Booth gave her a quick kiss and began tracing slow circles on her back. "I'd… very much like it if you were here every time I woke up."

"Bones," Booth began cautiously, "are you saying that you want to move in with me?"

"Yes, Booth. I believe that is exactly what I'm saying." Booth smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Nothing would make me happier, Bones." The two of them, cuddled close together, fell asleep much easier than they thought they would that night.

**Credit for the idea that in a dream Brennan wants to tell Booth she loves him but can't totally goes to Thnx4theGum and her far superior writing skillz. Check her stuff out! As always, tell me what you think! Is it too OOC? Kind of a crappy concept? Or just awesome? Let me know!**


	3. Self

**The response to the first two chapters has been (as The Science Dude would say) AMAZIIIING! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and put me on their story alerts! It means a lot. Let's get right to today's word, shall we?**

Self

Dr. Temperance Brennan has never really had a very solid sense of self. She did when she was young. She was Temperance, "Tempe." Her father taught her about science and her mother was truly her closest friend. Her brother looked out for her and if he was embarrassed by the way his little sister worshipped him, he never let it show. She was a straight-A student with few friends outside her family unit. The other kids called her "weird" and "nerdy", but she never really minded. She knew who she was, and above all, she knew she was loved.

Then, one day that should have been like any other in mid-December, all of that changed. Her parents drove off, never to return. Her brother, being only nineteen years old at the time, panicked and figured she would be better off without him. He was wrong. Temperance was bounced from foster home to foster home. Some were kind, some were unimaginably cruel. It was then that she began to lose her sense of self. She had no place to call home. She had no one to call "Marco" to her when she was lonely at school. Even fewer of her peers seemed to accept her. Her family, the only place she ever felt like she belonged, was gone. She began building walls around herself. No one was allowed in. They all left eventually, so there was no point in becoming attached to anyone. They were only going to hurt her in the end.

She grew up and immersed herself in her studies. She became a forensic anthropologist. She identified ancient remains for the Jeffersonian Institute. She loved the work and had even begun to form tentative relationships with those she worked with. Especially with her assistant, Zack Addy, and later, her only true "girlfriend", Angela Montenegro. For the first time in years, she had an identity, a sense of self. She was Dr. Temperance Brennan, the best in her field. She even had a few friends. The Jeffersonian had become her home.

Then Seeley Booth walked into her life and changed everything. He had once told her that he _knew_, right from the beginning. What she hadn't told him was that she knew too. She knew that she was a part of him, in a way she had never been a part of anyone else. She knew that she was losing herself in him, becoming a tangled mess to the point where she didn't know where she ended and he began. This terrified her. This couldn't happen, not when she had just figured out who she was again after years of abuse, loneliness, and confusion. She tried to rebuild the walls he had so easily torn down, but it was too late. He was inside, and nothing she could do would force him out.

She finally gave up trying to keep him out of the walls. He was just as stubborn as she was and he wasn't going to give up on being a part of her. Even when the two of them had first decided to become romantically involved, she still didn't understand it. Why was he so comfortable with this? With being so completely consumed by another person that the two of them were almost one being? Did the thought not terrify him like it did her? Apparently not, and eventually, it stopped scaring her too.

"Earth to Bones!" she heard him call. She tore herself from her thoughts. She must have been zoning out again. He was smiling at her, and she couldn't help but reciprocate.

"Sorry," she said as her cheeks tinted pink. They were washing dishes together, just as they did every night after Parker, their daughter Chrissy, and their adopted sons Travis and Kevin were asleep. Brennan never thought she would love this ritual so much. It was so… domestic. And Brennan was anything but that. Or so she thought, once upon a time. "Were you saying something, Booth?" she asked apologetically.

"I was just saying that I can pick Chrissy up from ballet on my way home tomorrow, but I won't be home in time to take Travis to T-Ball. Do you think you'll have time to drop him off or will we have to have Vanessa do it before she goes home?"

"I should be home in plenty of time to take Travis," Brennan answered as she dried a plate. The two continued their washing in a comfortable silence. They maneuvered around each other easily and could anticipate their partner's next move without a word spoken between them. When they completed their task, they walked up the stairs and kissed each of their children goodnight in turn before slipping into bed themselves.

They found their sleeping position quickly and easily, moving with each other until they both knew that the other was comfortable. With a quick kiss and an "I love you" from each of them, they settled in for sleep.

Brennan knew full well how tangled her identity had become with Booth's. At this point they could practically read each other's minds, metaphorically speaking of course. But she realized now that this didn't detract from her sense of self at all. She was still Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist and crime solver working in correspondence with the FBI. But she was also Brennan, or simply "Bren", to her dear friends. She was "Tempe" to a father and brother who had returned to her. She was "Mommy" to three beautiful children. And, most importantly, she was "Bones" to the man who shared her life, whose identity had become so much of her own. And in this moment, she knew exactly who she was. She finally had her sense of self she had been seeking for so many years.

**I saw this word come up and the story just poured out of me! It's 2am so technically it's the next day. :P I'll just have to refrain from writing another one when I wake up! So, a little different this time. Do you like the style I used for it? Was it terrible? Great? Let me know! I'm having a blast writing these. It's going to be a great month!**


	4. Related

**All of your support continues to overwhelm me! Thank you all so much!**

**The "random word" thing might hinder this, but I'm going to try to make the next few chapters about the backstories of Booth and Brennan's kids, particularly their adopted boys. Like I said the words might make that difficult, but I promise all their stories will be told eventually. First up is their youngest, Travis.**

Related

Six-year-old Travis Booth wasn't like most boys his age. He was born to a mother who was more interested in where she was going to get her next fix than the welfare of her child. No one, not even said mother, knew who his father was. He was taken from his birthmother when he was only seven months old and went into the foster care system. He had stayed with five families already when he came to stay with the Booths as a three-year-old.

Booth and Brennan had taken care of foster children in the past. They began shortly after they got married. They were always older children who were almost of age and ready to leave the system. Brennan knew all too well how difficult it was for these teenagers. This time in their lives was hard enough already, they didn't need the added stress of wondering if they would have a loving home to go to at night. So they surprised everyone, especially themselves, when they accepted the three-year-old little boy into their hearts and home. They fell in love the instant they saw those light brown curls and soft grey eyes. He was a well-behaved, shy child who could ramble on about anything and everything if you could ever get him talking. Booth and Brennan's five-year-old daughter Chrissy took to him right away, almost immediately referring to him as her "little brother." It didn't take them long to decide that they wanted nothing more than to adopt him. After a lot of waiting and paperwork, Travis officially became a Booth.

On this particular Tuesday afternoon he was stepping off the school bus with his sister as usual. Their mother was there to greet them with a warm hug. This was a rare treat for them; usually she and Booth weren't home until after the kids came home from school. "Did you have a good day, Chrissy?" she asked her now eight-year-old daughter.

"Yes!" Chrissy replied happily.

"Tell me what you learned," Brennan said as she did every day. As Chrissy prattled on about long division and volcanoes, Brennan looked down at Travis to ask him the same question and immediately noticed he had been crying. "Is something wrong, Travis?" she asked gently. He only shrugged. "Would you like to tell me about it?" He shook his head. Brennan decided not to press and walked her two children home.

After Booth had come home and the family had eaten dinner together, Travis resigned himself to his room. He did this every time he was upset about something. Being alone was something he understood. It comforted him. Brennan gave him a few minutes before knocking softly on his door. He mumbled for her to come in, although he didn't really want her to. She sat next to him on his bed and it didn't take him long to scoot closer to her and rest his head on her shoulder. She put an arm around him and squeezed. "You don't have to discuss it if you don't want to," she assured him. "But I would like you to know that Daddy and I are always here to listen if you wish to speak with us."

"Mommy, do you love me?" Travis said so quietly it was barely audible. Brennan looked down at him, alarmed. This was pretty much her worst nightmare. Had she not shown him enough affection? Did he believe that she loved Chrissy more than him?

"Of course I do, Travis," she said and squeezed him tighter. "Why would you ask such a question?"

"Daddy too?" Travis added, ignoring Brennan's query. Brennan nodded.

"Daddy too. Travis, what brought this on?" she asked with concern. Travis took a deep breath before continuing.

"A boy at school, Jonathan, I told him that you and Daddy 'dopted me because I didn't have a family and you loved me a whole lot and wanted me to be in yours." Brennan smiled automatically. She was glad her son seemed to understand the concept of adoption so well. "Then he told me that you weren't my real family because I was never in your belly and I don't have hair like Daddy or eyes like yours like Chrissy does. Is that true, Mommy? Are you not my real family because I was in another belly before I was born?" Brennan sighed. This was really more Booth's territory. Wait… Booth. Another smile spread across her lips. She knew exactly what to say.

"Travis, Sweetheart, a long time ago your father told me something. He told me that that there is more than one kind of family. You don't have to be genetically related to be a family. You, Daddy, Chrissy, Parker, and I are a special kind of family. All three of you came into mine and Daddy's lives in different ways. Parker has a different Mommy than you and Chrissy, but he is still your brother. You are genetically linked to different people than us but you are still our little boy. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that any group of people who love each other and take care of each other no matter what is a family. Okay?" She felt like she could have put that more eloquently, but her fears were put to rest when Travis smiled that adorable crooked grin of his and nodded. Brennan pulled him into a proper hug and didn't let go for several seconds.

"I love you, Mommy," Travis said as he held her tight.

"I love you too," Brennan replied and kissed him on the head. "Would you like me to leave you alone for a while?" Travis nodded and Brennan kissed him again before walking out of his room. As she entered the hallway she practically ran into Booth. "How long have you been standing here?" she asked, unsurprised.

"Long enough to know that you're one hell of a mother, Bones," Booth replied and gave Brennan a sudden, deep kiss.

"Thank you," Brennan said when they parted.

"For what?" Booth asked, confused. Brennan looked back toward Travis's room and shrugged.

"For giving me everything I never knew I wanted," she answered and captured his lips with hers once more.

**Okay so this one might be **_**loosely **_**based on the word but I'm going with it. :P I don't know how I feel about this one. Was Brennan out of character? Did I introduce Travis properly? Let me know what you think!**


	5. Lost

**You people are spoiling me with all this praise! I'm having tons of fun and thank you all so much for reading!**

Lost

"Booth, we're lost," Brennan said for the fifth time in the last half an hour. Booth kept his eyes on the road and didn't even spare her a glance.

"We are _not _lost!" he insisted. Brennan sighed.

"We should have taken my car," she stated. "It has…"

"Yeah, Bones, I know," Booth snapped irritably. "Your car has a GPS that can give you directions to Neptune in Swahili."

"That's ridiculous, Booth. Although my GPS is programmed in several languages, Swahili isn't one of them. Also, it would be incredibly impractical to have the directions to Neptune on a GPS." Booth tried to fight the smile threatening to spread from ear to ear, but was powerless. Everything she did was just so damn cute. There was another long pause and then, "We are lost, Booth." Booth sighed and finally relented. He pulled into a convenience store and instructed Brennan to stay put while he asked how to get where they were going.

Booth was beyond pissed. Mostly at himself. This night was supposed to be perfect. He was going to take Brennan out for a night of dinner and dancing at a little place he had discovered just outside of DC. And… well, tonight was supposed to be particularly special. He fingered the small box tucked in his pocket. He had been carrying it around for weeks. He was admittedly pretty terrified about what would happen. Brennan wasn't really the "marriage type." But, Booth knew he had to give it a shot. He would be completely happy if Brennan didn't want a piece of paper to prove her commitment to him, but he would be _deliriously _happy if she would agree to marry him. He had to say it just right, that he didn't expect a yes but he just had to ask, you know, just to see if she'd accept.

No one he finds in the convenience store knows where he's going any more than he does. _Maybe this is a sign, _he thinks. _Just be happy with how things are now. Don't rock the boat by asking her something you know she'd never be okay with._ He got back in the car and drove off, not telling Brennan that he still had no idea where he was going.

"You haven't got a clue where you're going, do you?" Brennan teased when they were driving for another few miles. Booth sighed and pulled over. "We're lost," she said once again. They were next to a patch of forest labeled "public hiking trail." Suddenly, Booth was struck with an idea.

"We're not lost, Bones," he said again, this time with some conviction. He cut her off before she got the chance to tell him they were lost yet again. "We're on an adventure!" he exclaimed and jumped out of the car without warning. He ran around the car and pulled a rather confused Brennan out. "Come on!" he shouted with child-like glee. He took Brennan by the hand and ran with her to the hiking trail.

Soon, Brennan stopped asking questions and just enjoyed being with her crazy, impulsive partner in life. They stopped jogging and were now just enjoying a walk on the trail, hand in hand. "This is nice," Brennan said after they had been walking for a while. Booth grinned at her.

"Yeah," he agreed. Then he leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I love you, Bones." Brennan leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked.

"I love you too," she said with a look in her eyes that melted Booth's heart. Soon, the pair came upon a small river. Brennan grinned mischievously at Booth and let go of his arm, taking off toward the river. She tossed off her high heeled shoes and gathered the skirt of her dress in her hands. She waded in the river, giggling like crazy.

"Bones, what are you doing?" Booth called, laughing heartily himself.

"Come on, Booth! You wanted to go on an adventure, be adventurous!" Booth hesitated, then took off his shoes, socks, and jacket, and rolled his pants up above his knees. He joined Brennan in the water and she immediately splashed him.

"You're going to pay for that one, Bones!" he warned. Brennan stuck her tongue out at him and he glared playfully at her. He splashed her gently, not wanting to ruin her beautiful dress. The two of them played together in the water for a while, and when they were finished Brennan's hair was tousled and her make-up was long gone. Booth thought she never looked more radiant. As they stepped out of the water, Booth went to grab his suit jacket only to have it snatched away by Brennan. She ran away with it trailing behind her in the breeze.

"Bones, my jacket!" he complained, desperately grasping for it. "Bones, cut it out!" he shouted, although they were both belly laughing by now. Suddenly, Brennan stopped. "What's wrong?" Booth asked with concern as he approached her. She looked up at him, and for once he couldn't tell what was going through her mind.

"What's this?" she asked, although she already knew. The color drained from Booth's face when he realized what she held in her hands. She was rolling the small velvet box around and around in her palm.

"Bones…" Booth began softly, not knowing what exactly she wanted him to say. She put the box in his hand suddenly, and he was terrified. Had he just blown it for good?

"Ask me," she said forcefully.

"What?" Booth said, bewildered.

"Ask me," she repeated. "Isn't this how it works? You buy a ring, get down on one knee, and propose? I believe that is the custom. Evidently you were planning on asking me at some point since you purchased the ring. So, do it, Booth. Ask me." Still reeling a little from Brennan's demand, Booth took a knee, feeling pretty ridiculous.

"Bones… Temperance. Baby…" He struggled to find the right name to call her in the moment. "The first thing I ever asked you was if you believed in fate. I know you still don't, but I still do. I believe in it more every day. And every day I fall even more in love with you. And I want that every day for the rest of my life." He was growing more confident with each word. "I want to be your husband. I want everyone to know how much I love you and how serious we are about this. I know you don't believe in marriage, if you don't want to I will still be incredibly happy every day of my life just to have you in it. But I would really like to ask. Bones, my Bones, will you marry me?" His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for her to answer.

"Booth," she began, for once being at a loss for words. "I knew from the day we became a couple that this was coming. It only made logical sense. You believe in marriage. You would want that with the person you loved. And I am the one who is lucky enough to carry that title in your life. So, I have done a lot of thinking about this too. For your sake." Booth couldn't help but chuckle. Of course Bones had thought about it. How could he think he could catch her off guard with anything, even this? "And the more I think about it, the more I realize that I would very much like the same thing. So my answer, Booth, is yes." Booth's eyes lit up.

"Yes?" he clarified. Brennan nodded and he stood up and pulled her into a tight hug. Their lips found each other and didn't part for a long time. Finally, they stopped kissing and Booth slipped the ring onto her left ring finger. She admired it and hugged him around the neck. "Ready for another adventure, Bones?" he whispered in her ear.

"Yes, Booth. I believe I am," she replied, for once knowing exactly what he meant with that strange way he spoke in metaphor.

**So, what'd you think? Was it a realistic way a proposal scene would play out between these two? I really kind of like this one. It was one of those where I read the word and story just sort of wrote itself. But, we'd all like to write our own reviews! So **_**you**_** do it! Tell me what you thought!**


	6. Silent

**Okay, so we've met Travis. Now it's time to meet Kevin! I went back and forth on what Kevin's age and background should be. In case you get confused, Parker is the oldest (obviously), then Kevin, then Chrissy, then Travis. Kevin, however, was adopted last, albeit at an older age. Hope that makes sense! Geez, I didn't see these being so involved. :P**

Silent

Everything was silent, a strange sensation on Kevin's ears, since only moments before he had been nearly deafened by the screams and the gunfire. He tried to open his eyes, but shut them again when the light aggravated his already intense headache. He heard sirens in the distance, or perhaps close by. He couldn't really tell anymore. Finally, he let unconsciousness take him into a truly silent world.

He was only ten at the time. His parents brutally murdered. Kevin himself gravely injured by a blow to the head and a gunshot wound to the chest. The case remained unsolved. He was moved to the opposite side of the country in order to protect him from whoever had tried to kill him. He was given a new last name he hated. He was supposed to completely forget his past. He was never supposed to mention where he came from except to his social worker and his foster family. Many of the other children he met asked him about his past, but Kevin would remain silent.

He had been in a lot of foster families in three years. He was a trouble maker. He would steal from the family and be mean and hurtful toward the other kids in the house if there were any. All this because he wanted to be kicked out, in the desperate hope that he might be returned home. The foster families would ask him what his problem was, but Kevin would remain silent.

Many of the families had been nice enough, but a few were malevolent. He would take daily beatings from one of his foster mothers. He would be sexually assaulted at night by one of his foster fathers. His life was threatened if he ever told anyone about what happened behind closed doors. He knew all too well how easily those threats could be carried out, so he kept his word and remained silent.

The Booth family was his seventh foster family in three years. He could tell right away that they were one of the nice ones. That meant he would have to do a lot of stealing and general rule breaking to get kicked out of this one. They had three other kids; the oldest was a guy about seven years older than him. There was another boy six years younger than he was. He had come from the system too, but this family had adopted him. Kevin wondered how he could look so happy, coming from the same thing he did. The last was a little girl, four years younger than him. She was their real kid, so probably got all the best stuff in the house. That was always how it worked.

He started acting out the second he stepped through the door. The first time he was caught taking money from his new foster father's wallet, he expected yelling. Maybe even getting smacked around, he didn't really care. He expected anything but what he got. His foster father, who had told him to call him "Seeley" or "Booth", sat him down and asked him why he had stolen the money, and tried to get in a fist fight with Parker, and told Travis he was unloved, and called Chrissy a spoiled brat before destroying her favorite doll. _Why?_ No one had ever asked him _why_ before. He just acted out, the parents yelled, and he was moved to a new foster home. That was the whole deal.

Because he wanted to leave, he told Booth. He wanted to go home to California, to all of his friends. Booth told him he understood. He _understood_? No one had ever told him that before either. Booth went on to tell him that California wasn't safe for him, and no matter how many times he was moved around, he wouldn't be brought back home. So, why not just stay put with a family who genuinely liked him and wanted him to stay? Kevin still had a hard time believing that these people loved him. After all, who was he to be deserving of affection? But the talk had relaxed him a little.

Despite his talk with Booth, Kevin continued to have problems, especially with his new younger foster siblings. After a particularly explosive temper tantrum he threw about Chrissy getting more to eat for breakfast, he was sat down by his foster mother. She told him that she was a foster child too. To say Kevin was surprised would be an understatement. She told him stories of being locked in car trunks and being completely forgotten at Christmas. Once again, he was told that he was understood. Kevin liked the way that felt, because he knew they really did understand. Then she asked him to tell her his stories of how he got into the system, and his experiences since he had been there. For the first time in his life, Kevin told the whole truth about his background. It felt good, even when he started to cry. Brennan only held him, and remained silent.

Kevin and Brennan spoke a lot about not trusting other people. He realized that Brennan was a lot like him in a lot of ways. Soon, he allowed himself to be loved by his new foster parents and foster siblings. He finally felt as if he was deserving of love, and found himself willing to give love back. He felt like he belonged here. He told his social worker of happiness. The social worker told the Booths that Kevin had never responded this way to anyone else, and feared that he wouldn't react well if he were forced to leave. So, six months after moving him in, they decided that they wanted to adopt Kevin legally.

He was almost fourteen now. He had always figured on leaving the Booths someday, after all he was too old to adopt. So when they sat him down one evening, he had no idea what it was about. When they told him that they wanted him to be one of them, to be a Booth legally, he was completely silent. For the first time in his life, his silence came from speechlessness and joy.

**So, this one isn't really B and B, but I really wanted to introduce Kevin's background. Tell me what you think about the no dialogue thing. I find it pretty difficult, so don't be expecting that too much. :P I was also thinking of doing a multi-chapter story when the month is over in this universe surrounding Kevin and his quest for his parents' killers. Tell me if that's something you'd wanna read!**


	7. Tough

**Okay, with both of the adopted Booth boys properly introduced, it's back to regular B and B fluffiness squared to the power of ten times four. :D Since we've spent some time with the boys, let's spend some time with Booth and Brennan's daughter.**

Tough

Chrissy Booth was just like her mother in many ways. She was intelligent, sensitive, and stubborn. But most of all, she was fearless and passionately curious. That was a dangerous combination. From the time she could walk she would get into anything and everything, wondering what it was and how it worked. As she got older, she continually took huge risks just to prove that she could do them.

On this particular Saturday afternoon, six-year-old Chrissy was at the park with her father and little brother, Travis. "So do you guys want to go on the swings?" Booth asked when they arrived. Chrissy dropped his hand and shook her head.

"No, Daddy! Watch me climb the jungle gym! I'm gonna go all the way to the top!" Chrissy exclaimed and charged toward the jungle gym.

"Be careful, Chrissy!" Booth called after her. He looked down at his four-year-old boy and saw that he was gazing up at him. "Do _you _want to go on the swings, Trav?" Travis only nodded slightly and gripped Booth's hand tighter. Although he had been living with the Booths for a year, Travis still barely spoke a word.

"Daddy, are you watching me?" Chrissy shouted across the playground as Booth walked to the swings with Travis. He looked up at her and his heart skipped a beat. That jungle gym seemed a lot taller when his little girl was standing at the top of it.

"Don't go any higher!" he warned her with his anxiety evident in his voice. Chrissy rolled her eyes and continued to climb. "Christine Elizabeth Booth! Do not climb any higher!" Anger mixed with his anxiety as he walked toward the jungle gym. Chrissy continued to ignore her father. She put her foot on the bar that attached the outside of the jungle gym to the center pole.

"Daddy, I'll bet I can walk across the bar to the middle! Watch me!" Booth silently cursed Brennan's genes for creating such a little terror. She cautiously let go of the bar and stood up straight. Booth was practically sprinting toward her now.

"Chrissy, you are in _so_ much trouble! Come down right this second! You are _not _going to Bailey's birthday party next week!" Travis just sat on the swing his father had left him in and watched the scene unfold.

What happened next took only a matter of seconds, but to Booth they seemed like slow motion. He reached the jungle gym and was trying to decide how to best get his daughter down, when he saw her lose her footing. He quickly assessed which way she was going to fall and rushed to catch her. He failed and she plummeted to the ground only feet from him. The scream she let out after she hit the ground was enough to tear his heart in two. He rushed to her side and tried to coax her to say where she was injured. He soon realized he didn't need to be told. Her arm was bent in a way he was entirely certain it wasn't supposed to.

"Okay, Chrissy. It's okay. Daddy's got you." He soothed quietly. "I'm going to pick you up now, okay? We're gonna go to the hospital." Chrissy nodded and Booth scooped her up in his arms. He called for Travis to follow them and rushed as quickly as he dared toward the car. Once he knew Travis and Chrissy were safely buckled, he got in the driver's seat and sped toward the hospital, siren blaring. "Hang on, Sweetheart. We're almost there," he assured himself as much as his daughter. Chrissy was still crying, but not as loudly as she had been earlier.

It was a simple break of the arm and the bone was quickly set and put in a cast. Brennan entered the hospital room, concern etched on her face. She accepted the hug Travis was offering her then moved to Chrissy. "Are you okay?" she asked. Chrissy nodded.

"Yeah, Mommy. Look at my cast! Isn't it cool? Daddy and Travis already signed it. Will you sign it too?" Brennan smiled as she realized her daughter was her same old self.

"Of course I will," she promised and planted a kiss in her daughter's hair. "What kind of fracture is it?" she asked Booth.

"Don't worry, Bones. She's fine. It wasn't poking out of the skin or anything," he replied with a confident smile.

"From the way they casted it I would hypothesize that she fractured her radius." Chrissy nodded enthusiastically.

"That's right, Mommy! I knew you would guess the bone." Brennan grinned. Chrissy was flashing her a smile that was absolutely identical to her father's.

"How did this happen?" she asked the room in general. Booth let out a small laugh.

"It's all your fault, Bones," he teased.

"_My _fault?" Brennan repeated, not quite getting that Booth was joking. "How could it possibly be my fault? You're the one who was with her at the time."

"Whoa, Bones, I was just joking," Booth said, putting his hands up defensively. "She was walking around on the top of the jungle gym after I told her to come down. She got that from you, you know. That way she can't resist risky behavior."

"From _me_?" Brennan said with humor. "Booth, I believe she inherited that particular trait from you." Booth laughed and put an arm around Brennan.

"I guess she was doomed, huh?" he said and kissed her on the temple. Brennan sighed and leaned into her husband.

"Are you in pain, Christine?" Brennan asked. Chrissy looked up from the conversation she was having with Travis.

"A little bit," she admitted. "But I'm tough. Right, Daddy?" Booth smiled and walked toward his little girl.

"Yeah, Baby Girl. You're tough." He gave her a hug being careful not to touch her arm. "But even tough girls need some 'get well soon' ice cream, right?" Chrissy considered this for a moment.

"Yeah, I think even tough girls like ice cream," she decided.

"Me too!" Travis finally spoke up. "I can be tough too!" Booth and Brennan laughed and Booth ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, Little Man. You can be tough too." He turned back toward Chrissy. "But don't think this gets you off the hook. You're still not going to Bailey's birthday party."

"Mom!" Chrissy cried, desperate for some backup.

"Your father's punishment is satisfactory," Brennan said sternly. "You put yourself at great personal risk and you have to understand that those kind of actions carry heavy consequences." Chrissy pouted and stared at the floor. Booth laughed. Yes, his little girl was very tough. He had some interesting years ahead of him.

**Tell me what ya think!**


	8. Shoulder

**I don't think this word could have been any more perfect!**

Shoulder

"Are you okay, Babe?" Brennan heard his voice behind her. She didn't turn around and just shrugged. She felt him sit beside her on the bed. "It's okay to be upset, Temperance." The use of her first name sent a chill up her spine.

"I've always found it much easier to just process my feelings and move on," she replied, looking him in the eyes for the first time. "I would appreciate it if you respected that and just left me alone right now, Booth." Booth nodded in understanding and kissed Brennan on the temple.

"Okay," he promised. "But you know where to find me if you need me." Brennan smiled slightly and gave Booth a peck on the lips.

"I love you," she said, just to make sure he knew she wasn't angry with him. Booth returned her smile and put his hand in hers.

"I know," he told her and left the room. He walked out into the hallway and met up with his daughter, who was standing her doorway.

"Is Mom okay?" 18-year-old Chrissy asked. Booth nodded and gave his not-so-little-anymore girl a much needed hug.

"She will be," he replied, then looked Chrissy in the eyes. Her eyes were absolutely identical to Brennan's, which Booth had to admit contributed to her getting out of a lot of trouble when she was little. "Are you okay?" Chrissy shook her head.

"I'm going to miss him, Daddy," she said with tears in her voice.

"I know you are, Sweetheart. I am too." Chrissy hugged her father tightly once again.

"Do you think Mom will go to the funeral?" Chrissy asked when they parted. Booth shook his head, remembering that she once called his own funeral a "waste of time." Of course, she had changed a lot since then.

"I don't know," Booth answered honestly. "Go to sleep. We have an early start tomorrow." Booth kissed Chrissy on the cheek and bid her goodnight. He then went to check on Travis. "Hey, Trav," he said gently when he saw his son on his computer.

"Hey, Dad," Travis replied as he turned around in his swivel chair.

"You holding up okay? You two were probably the closest of anybody in the family." Travis nodded.

"I'll be fine," he promised his father. "We just have to be there for Mom, right?" Booth smiled. The little boy they welcomed into their hearts thirteen years ago was quickly becoming a full-fledged man.

"Right," Booth confirmed. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't." Booth and Travis said goodnight and Booth went downstairs to call Parker and Kevin to see what time they would be home in the morning for the funeral. After he completed his task, he decided to have a midnight snack before heading to bed. Mostly, he just wanted to give Brennan a little more time to herself.

"That's incredibly unhealthy," Brennan said playfully from the doorway when she caught him digging into his potato chips ten minutes later. Booth grinned at the sight of her and put his chips down. He waited patiently for her to initiate the conversation. He knew this was a time to give Brennan all the control.

Brennan stood in silence for about ten seconds until she couldn't stand it anymore. She rushed for her husband to seek solace in his arms. Of course he gladly welcomed her, pulling her close to his chest. Brennan rested her head on his shoulder. His shoulder had always been her security blanket of sorts. She always felt safe in the crook of his neck. From when they thought they found Russ's blood in her apartment to the frequent comfort she received from him when she had one of her nightmares, his shoulder had been her safe haven for 26 years. He squeezed tighter when he registered that his skin was being dampened by her silent tears. "I hate feeling so weak," she admitted.

"Bones, Baby, he was your father," Booth reminded her. "Crying when your father dies is not weakness."

"Then why do I feel like it is?" she asked. Booth's response was to kiss her on the cheek. She gripped him tighter and finally let out a sob. "He abandoned me. Why should I feel bad or guilty about the time we lost?"

"Is that how you feel? Guilty?" Booth asked softly against her ear. Brennan nodded. "That's not your fault," he reassured her in a whisper. "He made his decision. I understand that you regret not growing up with your father in your life. But it was _his _decision. Not yours. It wasn't your fault."

"I don't understand," Brennan said after a moment. "I don't know how I should feel. Should I be angry with him for leaving me behind or should I be grateful that he came back and was the kind of man toward our children that I wish he had been to me? Should I be glad that we had 25 years to get to know each other again or should I be resentful that he wasn't there when I needed him most? How should it feel, Booth?" Booth reached up and wiped a stray tear away from her cheek.

"I think it should feel like all of those things, Bones," he said gently. "Will you go to the funeral with us tomorrow?" he asked after a minute of just letting her be in his arms.

"Yes," Brennan decided. Booth gave her a surprised look, and Brennan couldn't help but smile. "You've taught me a lot in our nearly thirty years as partners, Booth," she said with shining eyes. "Not the least of which was the importance of supporting those we love. I'll be there for you, for the kids, and for Russ."

"And for you?" Booth added. Brennan just looked at him for a second then slowly nodded her head.

"Yes," she admitted. "And for me as well." She accepted the hug Booth was offering and rested her head on his shoulder. On her safe spot.

**Okay, so I loved writing this one. A little jump to the future for all of you! Tell me what you thought of it. :D**


	9. Laughing

Laughing

Brennan surveyed her living room with pride. This was the first time her whole family had been together since Kevin was officially adopted. All four of her children and her husband were watching something inane on television and eating dinner. Brennan usually wouldn't allow them to eat in the living room, but in that moment they all seemed so happy so she didn't fight it.

"Hey Parker!" Chrissy called to her oldest brother suddenly. Chrissy adored Parker. He was her second most avid protector, after her father. Parker turned to look at her and was met with mashed potatoes directly in the eye.

"Chrissy!" Brennan scolded. But more food was flying across the room now, this time headed from Parker to Chrissy. "Parker!" It missed its mark and hit Booth squarely in the face. Without hesitation, Booth flung some of his corn back at his son. "Booth!" Brennan reprimanded.

They all ignored Brennan's scolding and continued to fling food at each other. "Come on, Kevin, show me what you got!" Booth encouraged the most recent of his sons. Kevin grinned and, having been invited, threw himself enthusiastically into the activity.

"You're making a mess!" Brennan attempted to shout over the laughter.

"Oh, come on, Bones! I'll help you clean up later," Booth promised. He threw a piece of food at her, but she only shot him an annoyed look. Brennan then noticed that Travis was sitting by himself in the corner of the couch, shying away from the pandemonium in front of him.

Brennan managed to maneuver herself around her husband and three older children to get to her youngest. Brennan whispered something in the little boy's ear that made him smile. He took his plate and upturned it on Booth's head.

"Hey!" Booth shouted and turned around. Travis looked terrified, so Booth's face quickly softened and he attacked the boy with tickles. Travis squealed with delight as he tried to wrestle out of his father's grip. "Who put you up to this?" Booth asked through his giggles.

"Mommy!" Travis managed to squeak out as Booth continued to tickle him.

"Chrissy, you got potatoes in my hair!" Parker complained. "You're going to pay for that one, little girl! Kevin, help me out!" Both of her big brothers pounced on her and she shrieked through her laughter.

"He sold you out, Bones," Booth said with a wide smile. Brennan's eyes widened as she fled away from Booth, rounding the dining table and heading through the kitchen and into the family room. Booth was hot on her tail and threw his arms around her as he tumbled onto the couch.

"Booth, let me go!" She pleaded as she fought against him.

"Never, Babe!" Booth teased and began assaulting her with kisses. She pushed him away, but he only held her tighter. "Resistance is futile, Bones!" Brennan finally gave in and kissed him on the lips softly, pretending like it was a huge chore.

"Ewww!" They heard Chrissy's voice and practically flew apart. "Mom, Daddy, that's gross!" she scolded her parents.

"We've made a hideous mess," Brennan said when things finally calmed down and they managed to get the two smaller children to bed. Booth smiled and put his arm around his wife.

"Yeah, but I want to leave it like this for a little bit," he said. Brennan gave him a disgusted look.

"Booth, it's food. If we don't clean it up now it will start to smell and will be almost impossible to clean," Brennan pointed it out.

"We'll clean it up tonight," he promised. "But I just want to look at it for a few minutes."

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" Booth shrugged.

"It says that there's a lot of love in this house. A lot of love, and a lot of laughter." Brennan smiled and leaned into Booth. He kissed the top of her head and held her tightly. "I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Booth," Brennan replied. "But we really should clean it up before it stains the furniture."

**I know we're all freaking out a little from the promo, so I wanted to give you all this! Tell me what you thought. I know it's shorter than usual and it's REALLY late, but I had a busy day, and technically I made it in before midnight. :P**


	10. Dress

**I know, late two days in a row. I apologize!**

Dress

"Look at this, isn't it adorable?" Angela squealed as she picked up the tiny dress off the rack. "Chrissy will look great in this!"

"Angela, she's barely four weeks old. That dress is for an infant of six to eight months," Brennan pointed out.

"I know, but how are you going to feel five months from now when she's big enough and you don't have this precious dress for her?" Brennan rolled her eyes as Angela pouted.

"Fine, I suppose I won't be able to stop you." The pair shopped a while longer, and Angela noticed that Brennan wasn't saying much.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" she asked after a long silence. Brennan only shrugged. "Are you worried about Chrissy?" she guessed. Brennan sighed.

"I know it's irrational," she began. "I know Booth is with her and she will be well taken care of by her father. But…"

"Hey, it's a Mom thing. This is the first time you've gone somewhere without her. It's bound to be hard. I couldn't tear myself away from Sierra for almost three months. Hodgins had to literally drag me out of the house." Brennan smiled.

"Angela, no more dresses!" Brennan complained as Angela dropped yet another oversized dress into the cart. "I swear, you'll spoil her more than Booth! And that's quite an accomplishment."

"Sweetie, that girl is going to be spoiled by the entire team. You had better get used to it now," Angela retorted.

**-Bones-**

"Mommy, I don't like dresses!" Six-year-old Chrissy complained as she stamped her foot.

"I know, Christine," Brennan said for the thousandth time that day. "We have been over this. You have to wear a dress for the Holiday concert at your school."

"I hate these shoes!" she whined.

"Chrissy, we don't whine," Brennan warned as she continued to put her daughter's hair up for the concert that evening.

"But how can I climb trees in this stupid thing?" she asked sincerely. Brennan gave her a confused look in the mirror.

"Climb trees? I doubt the opportunity to climb a tree will present itself." Chrissy shrugged.

"You never know, Mommy," she said, completely serious. Brennan laughed.

"Okay, you're finished," she announced. "Go downstairs. I just have to get dressed and we can go." Chrissy obeyed, but highlighted her distaste for her outfit by stomping deliberately out of the bathroom. "No stomping." Chrissy glared at her mother and continued down the stairs more quietly.

"Wow, Princess. You look great," Booth said with a whistle as Chrissy entered the living room. "You're really gonna knock 'em dead at the concert!"

"This thing itches!" was her only response. Booth chuckled, knowing all too well about his daughter's distaste for dresses.

**-Bones-**

"Daddy, you're being ridiculous!" 16-year-old Chrissy all but shouted at her father.

"I am not being ridiculous! That dress is unacceptable! God, Chrissy. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't let you in like that!" Chrissy huffed and crossed her arms.

"Mom?" Chrissy reached out to her mother for some support. Chrissy and Booth were usually very close, but whenever they fought Brennan was always caught in the middle.

"I've already told both of you. I think the dress flatters you," she answered, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about," Booth mumbled, almost too low to hear. "If you both thought it was so great then why haven't I seen it until now, when it's too late to pick something else?"

"Because I knew this would be how you would react no matter what I wore!" Chrissy shot back.

"I think it looks great, Sis," Kevin said from his perch on the stairwell. Chrissy smiled to him in thanks.

"You're some help, Kev," Booth said sarcastically. "I thought you of all people would be behind me on this one!" He looked to his youngest son, who was playing video games next to Brennan on the couch. "What about you, Travis?"

"No way, I'm not getting into this one," Travis said without looking up from his game. Booth sighed, exasperated.

"Great, you guys have brought both my boys over to the dark side. If Parker were here, he'd agree with me."

"Well, yeah," Chrissy agreed. "He's just as crazily overprotective of me as you are!" Booth was about to respond, but they were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. Chrissy made a point to get there first, not wanting her father to be the one to welcome her date into the house. She opened it and greeted her date with a smile. "Hi, Brady."

"Wow, you look great," he said as he stepped into the house. "These are for you." He handed her a bouquet of flowers.

"Thank you," she replied sweetly as she took them. She looked over at her father and rolled her eyes when she noticed that he was already eyeballing Brady. "This is my mom and dad, and my brothers," she introduced her family. Brady waved and Booth just continued to stare him down. "Daddy, we really should get going," Chrissy said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Yeah, Princess. Have fun." Chrissy and Brady went to leave, and when Chrissy was out of earshot he called Brady back. "Brady, come here for a second." The boy was visibly terrified, and Booth couldn't help but smirk. He was glad the boy was squirming a little. "You'll be good to my little girl? Treat her with the respect she deserves?" Brady was nodding vigorously. "Good. Because she's the only little girl I have. Oh, and by the way, I'm FBI. And I was a sniper. Just thought you should know." Brady's eyes widened, and the other three people in the room thought he might wet himself when Booth pulled his jacket back, revealing the gun in his hip holster. He clapped an approving hand on Brady's shoulder. "Now you two go have fun." Brady turned and practically ran out of the house. "What?" Booth asked when he saw Brennan looking at him. She only chuckled and shook her head. Booth glanced at the closed door. Now he _knew _that dress was too much.

**So, the first two scenes were just kind of me playing around with the word, but I liked all of them so I kept them in. Tell me what you thought of them!**


	11. Center

**Because everyone else is doing it! :P**

**Yes, yes. This is a 6x09 promo fic. Because I'm a follower. :P This is SO not how it's going to go down, but this is One Fluffy Month, right? Gotta go with the fluffiest outcome possible! (Major speculation spoilers based on 6x09 promo and sides)**

Center

"What the hell were you doing in the middle of the road, Bones?" Booth asked once Brennan was safely in the SUV and his own heart rate had returned to normal.

"Shaw," was Brennan's simple answer. "I was looking for evidence. She deserves to be heard. No one misses her. I was so close to finding something, Booth. And you pulled me away!"

"I pulled you out of the way of a car!" Booth shot back. Brennan didn't answer and just stared out the window. It was then that decided to ask the question that had been nagging at him ever since this case started. "Bones, why are you taking this so personally?" Brennan didn't answer right away, and Booth could tell she was thinking. He waited patiently for her to speak. After a moment, she finally turned to him.

"It's that helicopter pilot," she said softly. Booth gave her a confused look. "He loved her. He loved her with all his heart and all he ever wanted was for her to love him back. But she was afraid. She turned him down. She regretted it. I know she did. I don't want any regrets."

"Bones… what are you saying?" Booth asked, even though he had a pretty good idea of exactly what she was talking about.

"You and me. All you wanted was for me to say that I would give us a chance. That wasn't such a terrible request. I wanted it. But I was scared, Booth. But now it's too late. You've moved on. I made a mistake. I missed my chance. Now I'm just like her. With no one to miss me when I'm gone." Booth had no idea what to say. He was absolutely stunned. Then, Brennan began to sob. That was the one thing he could never handle, and he had never, ever seen her like this. He reached out instinctively and grabbed her hand.

"Hey, Bones, you are _not_ like Shaw," he promised. Brennan wiped away a tear with her free hand. "Okay? The squinterns think the world of you. Hodgins is your number one fan. Angela loves you." He paused before adding the most important part. "_I_ love you." Brennan smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I'm not expecting you to do anything, Booth," Brennan told him honestly. "I understand that what was between us is in the past. You have Hannah now. And I'm happy for you, really. She's a wonderful woman. You're good for each other."

"Bones…" He couldn't think of anything else to say other than the special name he had given her so many years ago.

"Booth," she let go of his hand pointedly, trying desperately not to burst into tears again over the tenderness in his voice. "I don't want you to worry about me. I'm going to be fine. You moved on, and I can too."

"I'm never leaving you, Bones," Booth promised. "No matter what happens, you'll always have me." Brennan smiled once again despite herself.

"I need you to do me a favor," she said after a moment of silence. Booth nodded.

"Anything, Bones."

"I need you to be happy," she said with a sad smile. "Despite everything that's happened, if you're really, truly happy I know I'll be okay." Booth smiled sadly. Anyone who said that Brennan didn't have the biggest heart in the world didn't know her like he did. "We're at my place," she announced. Booth hadn't even noticed and had to slam on the brakes to stop himself from passing the apartment complex completely. "I'll see you tomorrow, Booth." Brennan turned to get out of the car, but Booth put a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned back toward him and he pulled her into a tight hug.

"I need you to be happy too, Bones," he said as he squeezed her tightly. He let her go and looked her in the eyes. "Please, be happy." Brennan smiled slightly and nodded in promise. She turned away and got out of the car. He watched her go, making sure she was safely inside before driving off.

A million thoughts ran through Booth's head as he drove home. He had no idea that Brennan had been so tortured over her decision nearly a year ago. And, God, he'd been such a jerk to her after he came home from Afghanistan. How could he have not noticed? Well, he knew why. Hannah. He was so consumed with his relationship with her and his desperate attempt to "move on." Move on. There was the joke of the century. He thought he was doing an okay job of it. He and Bones had maintained their partnership and he had a beautiful, loving girlfriend at home. He had it all, didn't he? Yeah. Right.

If everything was so perfect and so wonderful, then why when Bones had said those words, 'I made a mistake', with those tears in her eyes that broke his heart, did all the old feelings come rushing back tenfold? He hadn't moved on at all. He had convinced himself that he had. Had convinced himself that he was doing them both a favor by leaving that part of their relationship behind. But things had changed, and he wasn't happy. Not completely, anyway. And he had made Bones a promise. He had promised her that he would be happy. And she had promised him that she would be happy. He knew there was only one way for them both to keep their promises to each other.

He finally tore himself from his thoughts and realized that he was approaching Brennan's apartment again. He had made a giant circle in his daze. Letting his lion heart make all the decisions, he was knocking on her door before he knew what was happening.

Brennan crashed on her bed the moment she got in the house. She buried her face in her pillow and cried harder than she had in years. It felt good. It felt cathartic. She screamed and sobbed and punched the pillow. Why on earth had she said it? And why did he have to be so goddamned _understanding _about it all? Why did he have to say exactly the right thing all the time? She had promised herself that she would never tell him. And then, the first opportunity she had, she blurted it out in a moment of weakness. Things would be awkward between them now. Whatever semblance of their former relationship they still had would be gone by the morning. And it was all her fault.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she heard the knock at her door. She tried to compose herself as best she could and looked through the peephole. She sighed and her heart began to pound her in her chest. What was he doing here? She opened the door slowly, not knowing what to say. "Booth…"

He didn't give her a chance to say anything else. He crushed his lips to hers in a passionate, desperate kiss. For a moment he was afraid that she would push him away yet again, but she gave into the kiss, giving back just as much as he was giving her. And for the first time in almost two years, they both felt completely, truly happy. Because they were the center, and the center must hold.

**Okay, since I know that (SPOILER ALERT) Hannah is around for a few more episodes after this next one, this is so not what's going to happen. But I can dream, can't I? :P I don't know if I want this to be a separate universe for just this one fic or not. So, what do you think? Do you think this should be how this universe's B and B got together, or do you want me to write another "getting together" fic for the canon I've created for this series?**


	12. Tea

**Okay so this one is REALLY short, but I liked it. I've hinted at it before, but this is our first real look at the relationship between Parker and Chrissy.**

Tea

"Mommy, come have a tea party with me!" Five-year-old Chrissy all but demanded her mother one Saturday morning.

"Not right now, Christine," Brennan replied, glancing up from her laptop. "Mommy's busy working right now." Chrissy pouted for a second, but quickly recovered when an idea came to mind.

"Where's Daddy?" she asked. Brennan chuckled. It always amused her to no end when Chrissy, who had her father wrapped around her little finger, would rope Booth into wearing her big plastic jewelry and princess tiara for a tea party.

"Daddy isn't home right now, Chrissy," Brennan told her daughter calmly. "I already told you that he had to work late at the office."

"You and Daddy are always working!" Chrissy complained in her usual fashion. The girl was stubborn and never satisfied until she got her own way. Which, of course, each parent blamed the other's genetics for. "You missed Mr. Elephant's birthday party last week! He was very disappointed that you didn't show up." She crossed her arms indignantly and Brennan laughed and shook her head.

"Tell Mr. Elephant that I apologize and I extend my birthday wishes." Brennan went back to typing and Chrissy stood still for a moment, contemplating her next move.

"I'll ask Travis," she decided. Brennan shook her head.

"Travis is taking a nap. Please don't wake him up." Chrissy sighed and sat on the floor, setting her chin in her hand. "Pouting gets you nowhere. You should understand that by now." Chrissy reluctantly stood and a mischievous smile spread across her lips.

"Parker!" she shouted down the hall. She shrugged her shoulders apologetically when Brennan shushed her. Then, quieter, "Parker!" She walked down the hall to her older brother's room and knocked on the door. 16-year-old Parker opened it a moment later. "Will you have a tea party with me?" Chrissy asked sweetly. Parker sighed. He _hated _playing tea party.

"Okay, let's go." He decided it was best not to fight her. Chrissy smiled and took his hand, pulling him toward her room. She picked out a necklace and a tiara for Parker to wear and handed them to him. He then helped her arrange her stuffed animals in the particular order she always placed them.

"Chrissy, would you like a cookie?" he asked, never able to resist throwing himself completely into the game when his sister looked at him with those big blue eyes. Chrissy sighed dramatically and pushed the empty plate back toward her brother.

"No, no, no!" she protested. "You have to ask Amelia first!" she insisted, gesturing toward her stuffed bunny rabbit. Parker gave her a confused look.

"Why?"

"Because she's the guest of honor!" Chrissy said, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. The two of them played for a while longer, Parker drinking his imaginary tea with his pinky extended and all. Neither of them noticed that they had an audience.

"He is very good with her," Brennan observed as she leaned into her husband's embrace. She could practically feel Booth smile and he planted a kiss in her hair. "You have a very patient son."

_"We_ have a very patient son," Booth corrected. Brennan smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Finally, Chrissy noticed them.

"Mommy, Daddy! You're just in time for the cake!" she announced happily.

"Well, I have some more work to do," Brennan said. "But I'm sure Daddy would love to have some cake with you and Parker."

"No way, Bones. You're coming to Amelia's party too." Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and they joined their children in their imaginary tea party.

**So yeah, not so good. But tell me what you think anyway! :D**


	13. Husband

**I realized it's been a while since we've had a purely B and B story (that wasn't at least a little heartbreaking :P), so I was glad when this word came up. Plus, I remember someone requesting that we see their wedding. This one is for you, even though I can't remember your name, sorry. :P It let me go back to classic "no kids besides Parker" B and B. I hope you like it!**

Husband

Brennan looked at herself in the mirror for the thousandth time that day. She still thought it was ridiculous that she was dressed in white, a symbol of virginity, but Angela had insisted. She was getting married today. She could hardly believe it. If someone had asked her even a year ago that she would be getting married, she never would have believed it. Marriage, after all, was an antiquated ritual. But, she knew Booth would ask someday. No matter what he had promised her and how sincere those promises had been, marriage was important to him. She knew that. So, when he asked (or rather she told him to ask), she knew what her answer would be. Although that answer surprised both of them, even to this day.

"Sweetie, you look beautiful," Angela told her when she noticed Brennan looking in the mirror yet again. "Stop worrying. Booth is going to have a heart attack."

"That seems like cause for worry," Brennan joked. She had gotten much better at jesting since she and Booth became a couple. Angela laughed.

"Funny, Bren, funny," she said, only slightly sarcastically.

"Are you entirely certain that Sierra is capable of being the flower girl? She's barely a year old," Brennan pointed out.

"Hey, Sierra will be a great flower girl. I mean, okay, she doesn't exactly have walking down to a science yet, but it'll be adorable." Brennan smiled when she saw what Angela's daughter was doing on the couch behind her.

"She's eating the petals," Brennan told Angela. Angela rushed to her baby girl and scooped her up.

"Parker can carry her down the aisle," she compromised. Brennan nodded, still smiling. "You look really happy, Sweetie," Angela observed.

"Of course I'm happy, Angela," Brennan replied. "I'm marrying Booth today." Voicing the fact out loud made her heart begin to pound. Angela beamed.

"I can't believe this is the same girl who used to go on and on about antiquated rituals and the meaninglessness of marriage," she quipped. Brennan laughed nervously. She really couldn't believe it either. There was a knock at the door and Max poked his head in.

"It's time, Tempe," he said with an excited smile. Angela and Brennan shared a hug and followed Max out of the room. Brennan looked around; Angela had really done a wonderful job decorating the lab for their wedding. Brennan grinned as she remembered the day they decided to have the wedding here…

_…"Bones, I know where we're going to have the wedding!" Booth announced out of the blue. Brennan looked up from her computer, surprised to see her fiancé in her office._

_ "Booth, I wasn't expecting you until one." Booth sighed and walked up to her, taking her hand in his._

_ "Bones, did you hear me? I said I know where we're having the wedding."_

_ "You do, do you?" she asked playfully. "And you weren't going to discuss this with me before you made a decision?"_

_ "Funny, Bones. Okay, let me rephrase that. I know a great place for us to get married. I think it's perfect, but I would dearly love your input, oh beautiful future wife."_

_ "Overkill," Brennan joked with a smirk. "Okay, what is this perfect place for us to be wed?" Booth grinned and looked Brennan in the eyes with a look full of passion and love._

_ "Here," he said simply. Brennan gave him a confused look. "The lab!" He noted that Brennan was still just staring at him. "Okay, hear me out on this. You don't want to get married in a church, and I totally get that. So I was trying to think of a place that meant a lot to both of us. This is your house of reason. Your real home. And this place? There are a lot of memories of the two of us in here. This is where I fell in love with you, Bones." Brennan didn't say a word, and leaned forward to give Booth a sweet, tender kiss._

_ "That's lovely, Booth," she said when they parted. "And very thoughtful. I would love nothing more than to marry you here."_

It was time for Brennan to walk down the aisle and up to the examination platform, their "altar" of sorts. Max walked her down the aisle, but she hardly noticed his arm linking hers. Her whole world at the moment was Booth, who was looking at her in the same way, with eyes only for her. Even from here, she could see the tears in them, which made her tear up herself.

The ceremony was short, but beautiful. The couple had decided to write their own vows, and there wasn't a dry eye in the house when they were finished. Finally, it was time for their first kiss as a married couple. When they parted and he smiled at her in a way she had never seen, Brennan thought she might just come apart at the seams. At first, perhaps she had decided to say yes for Booth's sake. But as time went on, she realized she wanted and needed this at least as much as he did.

The two spent the rest of the evening in a haze, lost in each other. They had their first dance to "At Last" by Etta James, at Angela's request. The point she was trying to get across was lost on no one and there had even been a few chuckles as they danced. "You make me so happy, Baby," Booth whispered in her ear. She held him tighter and rested her head on his shoulder. Yes. She wanted this. Booth was her husband, and nothing ever felt more right.

**So, hope you like it! I would have put their vows in, but I don't think I would do them justice. :P As always, tell me what you thought of it!**

**Oh, and I just broke 100 reviews! Thank you guys so much!**


	14. Sister

**I think it's kinda funny that this one popped up right after the word "husband", but the word generator gods have spoken. :P Let's go!**

Sister

"Dad, Dad!" an excited Parker exclaimed as his father and a noticeably pregnant Brennan returned home after a doctor's appointment. "Did you find out if I'm having a brother or a sister?" he asked as his eyes danced. Booth laughed and motioned for Parker to sit down.

"Yeah we did, Bub," he said with a goofy grin that had been sitting on his lips ever since he and Brennan were told the gender of their baby. Parker was squirming with anticipation. He wanted a little brother so badly he had dreams on the subject. Booth knew this, and he knew that he was about to shatter his son's hopes for a little brother to kick around. "Parker, it's a girl." Parker's face fell. Booth glanced to Brennan for help.

"I think she will be very fortunate to have you for an older brother," she offered. Parker shrugged and looked at his feet.

"I'm gonna go play with my DS, okay?" Booth nodded and Parker left the living room, heading for his bedroom.

"That went better than I expected, actually," Booth joked as Brennan sat next to him on the couch. He draped an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. "He'll come around." He felt Brennan nod and he kissed the top of her head.

"You're happy with the news, right?" Brennan asked her husband after a minute of just sitting with him in silence. Booth tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"Of course I am, Babe," he told her honestly. "I would have been happy if it had been a boy too, but I already have Parker. Having a little girl will be a new experience. I like the idea of a little girl who looks just like you running around here. She'll be a little Daddy's Girl." Brennan smirked at him.

"You mean that you will spoil her," she corrected. Booth chuckled and gave Brennan a quick peck on the lips.

"You better believe it, Baby," he said with a wide smile. He watched as Brennan put a hand to her stomach. "She kicking you?" he asked.

"Yes," Brennan answered. "It feels much stronger now that I am over twenty weeks along. At this stage you should be able to feel it as well. Would you like to?" Booth's eyes lit up. Brennan had been feeling their baby's movement for a while now, but it was not yet strong enough to be felt from the outside. The prospect of feeling his new child move was enough to make his heart rate pick up. Brennan smiled, took his hand, and placed it over where she was feeling the kicking. After a moment the baby kicked again and Booth's eyes shined with joyful tears.

"Whoa," was all his brain would allow him to mutter. Brennan chuckled and put her hand over his. Their eyes met and Booth's heart melted. "I love you, Bones," he whispered. She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss.

"I love you, Booth. So much," she said with a happiness in her eyes that Booth wished he could keep there forever.

"I'm gonna go talk to Parker," he said after another minute of just being with his wife. Brennan shook her head.

"You don't have to do that," she said. "Like you said, he'll come around."

"Yeah," Booth agreed, "but you're worried about it, Bones. I know you and I can tell that you don't like that he's not excited about having a little sister. So I'm going to go fix it because that's what I do. Okay, Bones?" Brennan sighed.

"Alpha male," she teased. Booth winked and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Don't I know it." He kissed her on the cheek and then made his way to Parker's room. He knocked on the door and waited for his son's slightly annoyed 'come in.' He opened the door and found Parker laying on his bed on his stomach with his handheld video game in front of him. "I think we should have a talk." Parker looked up at him.

"I didn't mean to be a jerk, Dad," he said earnestly. "I just really wanted a little brother. I made Bones upset, didn't I?"

"Maybe a little," Booth admitted. "I know why you wanted a little brother, Parker, but a little sister can be just as much fun."

"No way, you can't teach a stupid little sister how to play hockey." Booth laughed.

"Who says you can't?" he asked. Parker shrugged. "Your little sister might want to learn about hockey and your video games and all that other stuff you like. Plus, since she's your little sister, you'll also have a very important job." Parker gave him a confused look. "You have to protect her. She'll look up to her big brother, and you'll have to set an example so she won't go running around with losers when she gets older." Parker smiled.

"You really think she'll want to learn how to play hockey?" he asked. Booth laughed and put an arm around his son, who wasn't so small anymore.

"You never know," Booth answered. "But I do know that she's going to love you, and you're going to be one heck of a big brother."

"I just might love her too," Parker said. Then, with a mischievous smile, "You never know!" Booth grinned and punched Parker in the arm playfully.

"Yeah, you never know," he repeated. "Come on, kiddo, it's almost dinner time. What do you say me and you cook for Bones tonight?" The two of them walked out of the bedroom and passed Brennan, still sitting on the couch. "Bones, us guys are going to make you some spaghetti!"

"Thank you," Brennan said with a smile. "Don't destroy my kitchen." The two of them turned to go into the kitchen, and Parker turned back.

"I can't wait to meet my little sister, Bones," he said with that signature Booth smile. He turned and followed his father into the kitchen. Brennan watched the two most important men in her life go and placed a hand on her abdomen.

"You are a very fortunate girl to have those two to love you," she told her unborn child. She knew it was irrational to speak to the fetus, but she always enjoyed it. "Believe me, I would know."

**Happy Bones Day tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to the episode. I think we'll all love it, no matter how much it might break our hearts at first. :P As always, tell me what you think!**


	15. Sacrifice

**Happy Bones Day! Those of you on the east coast should be starting the episode right about now. I hope you enjoy it! I'll be watching it in a few hours, but feel free to tell me what you thought of the episode in reviews! I'm not shy about spoilers. :D**

Sacrifice

Booth couldn't help but notice that Brennan had been distant the last few days. He wasn't quite sure what it was, and that bothered him. Usually he could read her like a book, but this was a mystery to him. The only conclusion he could come to was that this was the first case they had been on since she had come off her maternity leave. Something about that fact was setting her off, but for the life of him he didn't know what it was. "Everything okay, Bones?" he has for the hundredth time since this case had begun.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered with a forced smile as she stood over the remains. "Did you call my father?"

"Yep. Chrissy is doing just fine and Parker is being the perfect big brother. Max says that he changed her diaper. I told him pictures or it didn't happen." Booth chuckled at his own joke and then put a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder when he saw that she was still tense.

"You're sure you're okay?" he asked gently. Brennan shrugged him off unceremoniously. He tried not to let the action hurt him; he always tried to accept the boundaries Brennan set when she was upset.

"I'm _fine_, Booth," she insisted. "I don't believe that your presence is necessary at this time. Why don't you go home and take care of the kids? Dad is probably ready for a break anyway. I'll call you as soon as I find any pertinent information."

"Yeah, okay," Booth relented. "How long do you think you'll be?" he asked. Not able to contain himself any longer, he approached Brennan and kissed her lightly on the neck. She suppressed the smile threatening to spread across her lips and shifted away from him.

"Booth, we decided years ago that we would be professional while at the lab or at the Hoover. Those guidelines still stand. We shouldn't be intimate like this at work. It… confuses things." Booth sighed, but backed off. "And to answer your question, I don't expect to be more than a few hours. I'll see you at home." Through this whole exchange, Brennan didn't look up from the body she was examining.

"Okay," Booth had pretty much given up on making her feel better about whatever it was that was bothering her. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. "You're not mad at me, right?" he asked, only half kidding. This time Brennan did allow herself to smile.

"No," she promised. "I'll be fine. We can talk about it tonight." Well, at least she was admitting that something was wrong. That was serious progress in Booth's eyes.

"Bye, Bones." Booth gave her a quick kiss on the head and hurried out of the lab before she could scold him.

**-BONES-**

Booth turned his key and swung the front door open. He was instantly met with his three-month-old daughter's high pitched wail. "Dad! Thank God!" Parker exclaimed when he saw his father. "Gosh," he corrected off of Booth's stern look. "She won't stop crying!" Suddenly, Max Keenan appeared behind Parker with Chrissy in his arms. She looked entirely unhappy. Her face was beet red and her tiny hands were balled up in fists.

"I don't know what's wrong," Max admitted. "She's not hungry, she's not wet, she only cries harder when I put her in the crib."

"Give her here," Booth told his father-in-law, arms extended for his little girl. Max placed Chrissy tenderly in her father's arms, and she almost instantly quieted. Max shook his head.

"She's just like her mother," he observed. "She protests nothing and only a Booth can calm her down." Booth shot Max a look, but smiled anyway.

"Yeah, I've definitely got a double shot of Bones to contend with these days," Booth agreed jokingly. "Isn't that right, Little Bones?" he cooed to the baby in his arms. She smiled in response.

**-BONES-**

Quite a while later, Brennan came home. Chrissy and Parker were asleep and Booth was waiting up on the couch. She smiled in greeting as she walked through the front door. She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Chrissy isn't sleeping well," he told her after a moment. "I think she misses her mommy." Booth could tell Brennan was conflicted about something, and his last comment only intensified it. "Talk to me, Bones," he said.

"I just needed some time to think," she said as she snuggled deeper into him. "I needed to… consider my priorities."

"Priorities?" Suddenly, the realization hit Booth like a freight train. "Bones… are you afraid that by having Chrissy you've sacrificed your career?"

"I did at first," Brennan admitted. "Of course I wouldn't trade being a mother for anything, but when we first got this case I…"

"You found out you really missed solving murders," Booth finished. Brennan nodded.

"I was conflicted. I missed Chrissy deeply but I was also very much enjoying examining evidence and drawing conclusions. Doing what I do best. I stayed late tonight so I could clear my head and sort out my emotions."

"And what did you conclude, Dr. Brennan-Booth?" Booth teased.

"I concluded that I can have both. My first responsibility is to Christine, of course. And to Parker and you. But my newfound role as a wife and mother is not mutually exclusive to being a scientist. I am not required to choose. I do not have to make any sacrifice." Booth smiled and kissed her on the forehead. They were interrupted by Chrissy's unmistakable cry. Brennan got up to take care of her.

A few minutes later, Booth walked into the nursery. Brennan was rocking Chrissy in the rocking chair and talking to her softly. "I don't think I agree with everything you said, Bones." Brennan gave him a confused look. "_This _is what you do best."

**Okay, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I kind of rushed it, so tell me honestly what you think! :D**


	16. Vacation

**So, I loved the episode. Did my heart break just a little? Sure. But I see hope for our favorite non-couple for the first time in a while. I see the rest of season six being an angsty, wonderful, satisfying journey. But let's not kid ourselves; we need a pick me up! So here it is! **

Vacation

"I'm glad we came here," Brennan said as she rolled over on top of Booth, tangled up in the sheets of their hotel bed.

"Mmm, me too," Booth agreed and caressed Brennan's bare back. He gave her a deep, lingering kiss. "Of course, this is basically what we do at home. We could be in bed all day without paying three hundred bucks a night." Brennan chuckled.

"The view is beautiful here, though," she joked lightly. "I didn't need Angela coming over unexpectedly and catching us, either," she added with a sly grin. "She would never forgive me for keeping this a secret from her." Booth laughed and gave Brennan another kiss.

"Baby, I hate to break it to you, but she already knows." Brennan's brow furrowed.

"No, that's impossible, Booth," Brennan said. "She would have squealed and demanded details and generally made my life miserable."

"Well, maybe she walked in while I was talking to you on the phone a few days ago," Booth admitted quietly.

"Maybe?" Brennan teased, although anger was already rising in her chest. Booth nodded sheepishly.

"Okay, she did. And I might have called you Baby and said that I couldn't wait to get you home."

"Well, she couldn't have known for certain that you were speaking to me. You could have been speaking to another woman," Brennan suggested. Booth shook his head slowly, knowing that he was about to be in big trouble.

"Well… not only did I call you Baby, but I called you Bones."

"How long, exactly, were you speaking to me before you realized Angela was in the room?" Booth watched as realization spread across Brennan's face. "That's why you brought me here," she surmised. "You brought me here so you could get me relaxed so I wouldn't be furious with you when you told me this."

"No, Bones, of course not. I was just trying to think of the right time to tell you, and you brought it up, so…"

"Oh, and we just happened to in bed naked together when the opportunity arose," she teased with a small smile. Booth returned it and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I promise, Babe. I had already made the reservations when Angela caught me. Now…" Booth rolled himself and Brennan over so he was on top of her. He began kissing her neck and down her shoulder and arm in a trail.

"That isn't fair," she said half-heartedly as she tried not to give into his advances. He ignored her and continued to kiss and suck at her skin.

A while later, the two of them were still cuddled together in the bed, watching the twilight fade into night. "You know, tomorrow we should actually go out there and do something touristy."

"I'm comfortable here," Brennan said as she nuzzled into Booth's neck. "I'm not upset that everyone knows about the nature of our relationship."

"Well, Angela is the only one who caught me."

"My statement still stands." Booth laughed and kissed Brennan on the forehead. "We wanted to keep it under covers for professional reasons…"

"Under wraps, Bones," Booth corrected automatically. Brennan continued without hesitation.

"My only concern was what the FBI would do about our professional partnership. I had no preference whether or not our friends knew about the change in our status. But it was irrational for me to think that we could hide it forever. And now, I'm not worried about what the FBI will do. If they decide that our romantic relationship is not a factor in our partnership; that will be wonderful. However, if they decide to sever our partnership, I will not be upset. As much as I need and desire to be your partner professionally, it is much more important that I be your partner personally." Booth smiled.

"Bones, that's the most beautiful thing you've ever said to me."

"That seems like an exaggeration, Booth." Booth shook his head and chuckled. He kissed her softly and rested his forehead on hers.

"I love you," he whispered. He had said it several times already, but it still made Brennan's heart skip a beat. She wanted so badly to reciprocate, but she was unable to form the words. Booth never expected her to say it. He already knew how she felt about him. "Tomorrow we're going for a walk on the beach, and then we're having dinner at one of those fancy seafood places on the boardwalk. We're actually going to do some vacationing on this vacation." Booth grinned when he saw the way Brennan was looking at him. "What?"

"I was just thinking."

"You always think, Bones. You'll have to be more specific."

"I was thinking about how much I would like to do this with you for the rest of my life. I'm very glad that we didn't miss our moment after all, Booth."

"Me too, Bones," Booth said with a sincerity in his eyes that melted Brennan's heart. "But I don't think we had a moment. I think we always just were."

**Okay, this one is probably the worst yet, but it's late and apparently my muse in on vacation tonight. Tell me what you thought anyway! I'll have a better one tomorrow. I promise to write it earlier in the day!**


	17. Appendix

Appendix

"Bones, I think you should stay home today," Booth said as Brennan got ready to leave for work. "You're not feeling well and I think you have a fever."

"For once in your life don't worry about me, Booth," Brennan said, already tired of her husband's constant hovering this morning.

"If I don't worry about you, who will?" Booth asked. "You certainly don't." Brennan shot him a look and sighed.

"If I am unable to work efficiently I promise I will come home," Brennan compromised. Booth shook his head.

"That's not good enough," he told her. "You can work efficiently no matter what, Bones. You have to promise me that you'll come home if you so much as sneeze." Brennan shut him up with a sudden, deep kiss.

"Goodbye, Booth," she said with a small smile when they parted. She quickly left the house before he could give her another argument.

**-BONES-**

Brennan stood over the ancient remains, wearing a wide grin. She rarely got to work with ancient remains these days, and she reveled in every moment she got to perform the task that made her want to be an anthropologist in the first place. She loved working with Booth and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, but sometimes it was nice to just get back to her roots.

She felt a twinge of pain in her side and shifted her feet until she found a more comfortable standing position. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "Hodgins, what is the temperature in here?" she asked the man who was examining the body with her.

"Why? You cold, Dr. B?" Hodgins asked. "It is kind of chilly in here." Brennan shook her head and wiped her brow again.

"No, on the contrary. I'm feeling extremely hot." Hodgins looked at the way she was favoring her right side and rushed to her with concern in his eyes. He put a gentle hand to her forehead and retracted it as his eyes widened.

"Dr. Brennan, you're burning up!" he exclaimed, alarmed. "I think I should take you to the hospital." Brennan shook her head in protest and was about to argue when another wave of pain washed over her. She doubled over and clutched her side. She became dizzy and the room seemed to spin around her. The pain wouldn't subside this time, and she vomited all over Hodgins' shoes.

"Dr. Brennan!" he hollered in alarm. "That's it; I'm taking you to the emergency room." Finally, Brennan stopped arguing and let her friend guide her out of the lab.

**-BONES-**

"Where is she?" Booth called when he saw Hodgins in the waiting room. He reached him and Hodgins immediately noticed the panic in Booth's eyes.

"She's still in getting tests," Hodgins explained. "They think it might be something routine, but they aren't sure yet. They aren't telling me anything specific. You'll probably have more luck." As if on cue, a doctor emerged and approached the two men.

"Are you Dr. Brennan's husband?" the doctor asked Booth. He nodded, not quite able to form words at the moment. "She's going to be just fine." Booth let out a breath. "Our initial thought was that it could be an ectopic pregnancy. That's when the embryo develops somewhere other than the womb. So we gave her a pregnancy test. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. It appears that she has a simple case of appendicitis." Relief washed over Booth and his heart rate slowed for the first time since Hodgins had called him.

"Appendicitis?" he repeated. He almost felt like laughing. The doctor nodded, smiling at Booth's obvious relief.

"Just a simple surgery and she'll be able to go home tonight. Appendix surgery has come a long way in just the last few years. It takes only an hour and she'll be able to go home tonight."

"Can I see her before she goes into surgery?" Booth asked. The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. She's already being prepped. I'll come out and tell you as soon as it's over." He touched Booth reassuringly on the shoulder and went back into Brennan's room. Booth looked at Hodgins after the doctor was gone and smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks for bringing her here," he said sincerely. Hodgins waved off his thanks.

"Don't worry about it, man," Hodgins told his friend. "I had to practically drag her here." Booth chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad you did. Really, Hodgins. Thanks." Hodgins nodded in humble acceptance.

**-BONES-**

An hour later it was all over. The surgery had gone perfectly and Brennan was awake and wanting to see Booth. He entered her room quietly, and his eyes lit up when he saw her smiling up at him. "Hi," he said softly.

"Hey," she greeted him. He hurried to her side and kissed her softly. Brennan's hand came up to caress his cheek.

"You scared the hell out of me, Bones," he said honestly. "Now will you listen to me when I tell you to stay home from work?" Brennan chuckled.

"You know I won't." Booth laughed. "Booth, can I discuss something with you?" she asked after a moment.

"Of course, Baby," Booth answered, noting that Brennan's tone had become serious.

"At first they thought I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy," she began. Booth nodded. "Do you know what that is?"

"Yeah, the doctor explained it to me."

"It's almost one hundred percent fatal for the fetus. Sometimes it's also fatal for the mother. When I thought that could be the problem I was very… I felt very upset. I realized it was because that would mean you and I had created a life together, but he or she would never actually exist." She paused before finishing. "I was relieved to discover that it was just appendicitis, but I was left feeling rather… the only word I can think to use is empty. I think I would like to have a child with you, Booth." Booth's eyes shined with tears and he kissed Brennan on the forehead.

"Nothing in the world would make me happier, Bones," he said with a wide smile. Brennan returned it and reached up for him to hug her. He gladly obliged and kissed her on the cheek as they finally let go of each other. She wanted a little more than just that and gave him a passionate, intense kiss. Things were just heating up when Booth pulled away. "Well, we can't start trying until you heal up," he teased. Brennan laughed and gave him a chaste kiss on the nose.

"I love you," she said with her eyes shining brightly.

"I love you," Booth told her. "We're going to make beautiful babies, Temperance."

**As always tell me what you think! I really like this one. The ending just kind of happened as I was writing it.**


	18. Secret

Secret

Brennan waited impatiently for her date to arrive. She silently reprimanded herself for being so nervous. She felt like a high school girl going on her first "real" date. This was absolutely ridiculous. It wasn't as if this was anything new. They had done things like this together a thousand times. But, somehow this _was_ different, and Brennan's heart was pounding in her ears. When she heard his unmistakable knock on her door, her stomach flipped.

He was wearing his usual confident grin, but inside he was just as excited and nervous as Brennan. Of course, he would never give her the satisfaction of knowing that. He pulled the bouquet of flowers from behind his back with a flourish. "For you," he said with some humor in his voice.

"Thank you," Brennan said as she accepted the flowers. She stepped aside to let him into her apartment.

"You look beautiful," he told her. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. There had been a few times where he eyes had remained glued to her perfect body, and he always felt guilty for it. But tonight, he allowed his eyes to roam and take in the way the dress she had chosen for the occasion flattered all of her best parts.

"I feel silly," she admitted after the two of them stood in a slightly awkward silence for a minute. Booth smiled and took her hand in his.

"Don't," he said simply. "It's no different than any other time we've gone out." Brennan shook her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"But it _is_ different, Booth," she insisted. "We're going on a date. I feel like I have to impress you. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells. Like if I say something wrong or talk too 'squinty' or break some sort of dating taboo I am unaware of that everything will fall apart and I will lose you forever." Booth shook his head.

"Bones, no one knows you better than I do. You honestly think that because this is a romantic thing that I've completely forgotten all of your little quirks?" Brennan glared at him, and Booth quickly backpedaled. "I mean, I _love_ all your little quirks, but come on, we both know you've got some serious quirkiness going on."

"And you don't?" Brennan shot back, glad that they had settled into their usual bickering ways.

"I'm not quirky, I'm a free spirit rogue rebel!" he teased. Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Would you like me to compile a list?" she asked. Booth shook his head and placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her out of the apartment.

"No time, we have a first date to get to!"

"You still haven't told me where we're going," Brennan complained once they were in the SUV.

"It's like I told you yesterday, Bones. It's a secret. You'll see when we get there."

**-BONES-**

Booth and Brennan enjoyed a nice dinner, and then went out dancing. "You stay here a second. I'm going to request a couple songs," Booth said walked over to the DJ.

"What did you request?" she asked when he returned. Booth was about to reply when Brennan finished the thought for him. "It's a secret, right?" Booth only smiled. As the next song began, Brennan instantly recognized it. She sighed. She should have known. "Really, Booth?" she said, feigning irritation.

"You know you love it, Bones! Like it or not, this is our song! Always has been, always will be!" Booth began gyrating around and singing the lyrics at the top of his lungs.

"Only we could call a song that was playing during an attempted on your life 'our song,'" Brennan observed with a laugh as she watched Booth in his usual charmingly horrible way.

"Come on, sing with me, Bones!" Booth pleaded her as he continued to belt out the song. Brennan resisted for all of thirty seconds before she gave in.

"Come on, Baby, do you do more than dance? I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded! If it feels alright, maybe you can stay all night…" They were both completely lost in each other and the song now, and certainly didn't care that all eyes in the club were on them. As the song came to an end, they finally looked around and noticed that they were the center of attention. They burst out laughing and found themselves in each other's arms.

"I requested another song too," Booth told her as he held her tight to his chest. "And before you ask, yes, it's a secret." Brennan had a pretty good idea what the song was, but she didn't say anything. As the next song began, she was proven right. "No room for the holy spirit this time."

"I should hope not," Brennan replied and pulled Booth closer to her. She rested her head on his shoulder and swayed along with him as Seal sang about roses being in bloom.

A few hours later, the pair was back at Brennan's apartment. "I had a wonderful time, Booth," Brennan said as they reached her front door. "I find that I would very much like to kiss you. Would that… be satisfactory?" Booth grinned mischievously.

"I thought nice girls didn't kiss on first dates," he quipped. Brennan shrugged.

"It's a good thing I'm not a nice girl." She leaned forward and kissed Booth squarely on the mouth. What started out as a simple peck quickly developed into something more. Her tongue darted in and out of his mouth and an involuntary moan escaped from her throat.

"Bones…" Booth managed to say as they parted for an instant. Brennan fumbled behind her for the doorknob as Booth continued to pin her against the door. She pushed him away for just a moment so she could get the door open. They staggered inside, lips still firmly pressed together. They stumbled onto the couch and Booth began nibbling at her ear. "Bones, I have one more secret," he whispered into her ear. "I'm going to make love to you." Brennan laughed and ran her fingers through his hair.

"You stole my secret," she teased as she began freeing him from his clothes.

**As always, tell me what you think! I think this is the "hottest" one so far, but I don't do that well, so tell me how it went. :P And if you are so inclined, check out my new story "My Love Always." It's REALLY not fluffy, in fact it's pretty much the complete opposite of this, but if you would like to read it I would love to know what you think of that too!**


	19. Will

Will

"I don't like it," Booth said for about the hundredth time that evening. Brennan sighed and glanced up from the paper in front of her. "Don't give me that look, Bones. This is bad luck, I know it."

"Booth, as I said before, there is nothing inherently bad about writing out your will. It's only pragmatic. Stop being so superstitious."

"You can't make me. I'm not dying, I'm staying right here. Come on, Bones. This doesn't freak you out just a little bit?" Brennan only continued to stare him down. "Fine, have it your way. A fourth for each kid. Okay, we're done."

"There's more to it than that, Booth. There are other things to consider. We have a great deal of wealth and in the unlikely event that we die in the immediate future…"

"Bones!" Booth hissed. She only rolled her eyes and kept talking.

"…I would like our friends to receive some of our assets."

"Like who? Angela and Hodgins? They're already loaded. In fact, everyone we know is perfectly well off." Booth sat down next to Brennan with an exaggerated sigh.

"What about items that have sentimental value? I know there are certain things of mine Angela would love to have, as a reminder. You're the one who taught me about the sentimental value of otherwise worthless objects." Booth glared at her. He didn't really like having his own words thrown back at him in an argument.

"You know what? You write out the will. Then you'll be the one jinxing yourself. I'll just be upstairs playing videogames with the kids." Booth got up to leave, but Brennan stopped him with a strong hand on his arm.

"Wait, there's one thing we have to discuss." Booth rolled his eyes dramatically and sat back down. He put his chin in his hand and looked at his wife impatiently. "We have to decide who gets the children in the event of our both being dead."

"What a lovely way of putting that, Bones," Booth said sarcastically. "Okay, fine. I'll help you pick out the saps who get our kids if we both kick the bucket."

"What a lovely way of putting that, Booth," Brennan teased back, causing an involuntary smile from her husband. "So, I've narrowed it down to three candidates." Booth waited expectantly. "First of all, Angela and Hodgins. They're certainly my top choice. They both have had lifelong relationships with all four of the children, and they most definitely have the means to care for them."

"If you already decided then why are we talking about this?"

"Because I would like your opinion. This is not a decision to make lightly. My second choice would be my father. While not an ideal candidate because of his murderous past, I believe he would be a satisfactory caretaker and would not irrevocably damage our children." Booth chuckled.

"That's not exactly a glowing review there, Bones."

"Which is why he is my second choice and not my first. Now, my final candidates are Russ and Amy. While I think they would be very good caretakers, they do not have much of a prior relationship with any of the kids. So, I've decided on Angela and Hodgins, unless you object? Would you like to nominate anyone?"

"Bones, you act like we're putting our kids' potential guardians up for a vote. Angela and Hodgins are a great choice. Now can we _please_ do something else? This whole thing gives me the heebie-jeebies." Brennan laughed and rewarded Booth's plight with a kiss.

"Yes, we can do something else now." Booth grinned and took Brennan by the hand. They walked into the game room, where all four of their kids were playing Super Mario Brothers Wii, an oldie but a goodie.

"Travis, you knocked me off!" Chrissy complained. "I told you to stay behind me. When you don't you always bump me into things!" Yep, that was their girl. Always taking charge and setting rules for her younger brother. Booth thought she would like to have dozens of little brothers and sisters just to be able to boss them around. Poor Travis was the butt of her bossy ways most of the time.

"I'm sorry, Chrissy." And that was their Travis. So shy and reserved, always willing to take blame for things he didn't do. He had come out of his shell a lot in the years since he had joined their family, but he was still the strong, silent type. Brennan hoped he always stayed that way.

"Watch out, Parker! Out of my way!" Kevin, their diamond in the rough. Long gone was the boy who would look for anyone to blame for his difficult life. He had blossomed into an exceptional young man who accompanied his mother to the Jeffersonian to learn about anthropology. He had fully embraced his new, loving life.

"All right, guys! Nice job!" Parker, the first venture into parenting for both of them. Brennan watched him grow from a four-year-old bright eyed, special boy into a fiercely protective, extremely "Boothy" man. His younger siblings were his world, and he would stop at nothing to help them. Both his father and step-mother were incredibly proud.

"You know, Booth," Brennan began as she watched the beautiful scene in front of her, "I think I understand why you were hesitant to write our will. I don't want to leave them either." Booth smiled and kissed her on the temple.

"We aren't leaving them, Bones," he promised. "We're a couple of tough cookies. We're not going anywhere for a very long time." Usually, Brennan would point out that he couldn't possibly know what the future held, but this time she just nodded and leaned into his embrace.

**As always, tell me what you think!**


	20. Listener

Listener

"It's not that big of a deal, Bones!" Booth shouted. They had barricaded themselves in their room as the fight escalated, not wanting to break their rule about not fighting in front of the kids. "You didn't even let me tell you what my answer was!"

"Your answer doesn't matter, Booth!" Brennan argued back. "I don't care what you said. The point is you didn't _tell _me!"

"I just did! I don't know what more you want from me!" Booth threw his arms up in the air in defeat. "What's the point here, Bones?"

"The point, _Seeley_," she spat his first name out as an insult, "is that you made a decision without even consulting me."

"But I said no!" Booth announced suddenly. "Okay, Bones? I said no."

"No, it's not okay! It's not okay, Booth. You should have told me the second they asked you to go on an undercover assignment. Especially one as dangerous as infiltrating a major crime organization! That's something you discuss with your _wife_."

"I said _no_!" Booth repeated, getting just a little bit exhausted. "I don't get it, Bones. I never would have said yes. We have kids for God's sake. There was nothing to discuss. I knew I was going to say no when they asked me. I would have said no right there if they hadn't made me think about it for 48 hours." Brennan sat on the edge of their bed and sighed heavily. Booth sat next to her and adopted a much softer tone. "Bones, Baby, tell me why this is bothering you so much."

"Keeping secrets from me is sort of a habit with you." Booth was taken aback by that statement.

"When have I ever kept a secret from you?" Booth asked in an almost-whisper. Brennan looked him in the eyes, tears brimming in hers.

"Sometimes you don't even tell me that you're alive." Booth could have sworn that his heart had stopped beating. That moment in their relationship, so many years ago, was never spoken of. Never. Booth always had a need to talk about what she went through for those two weeks, but she was always unresponsive when he tried to bring it up, as if she couldn't hear him.

"Bones…" He reached his hand up to wipe away a tear that had started to fall. "I don't think there's enough time in the world to tell you how sorry I am about that. And you're right. No matter what my answer was going to be, I should have told you. No more secrets, okay?" Brennan nodded, and leaned in slowly to kiss him softly.

"I love you," she told him. "And I'm sorry for overreacting. I just wonder what would have happened if you had said yes without consulting me. I wouldn't be able to forbid you to go, and I would have to raise the kids alone until you returned… if you returned."

"Hey," Booth soothed, "don't talk like that. I would never, ever make a decision like that without you. You believe that, don't you?" Brennan nodded slowly. "And you might not be able to forbid me, but it wouldn't be for lack of trying." Brennan laughed as Booth wiped away another tear from her cheek. He kissed her lightly on the lips.

"I think they're kissing," seven-year-old Chrissy told Travis, her ear pressed up against her parents' bedroom door.

Booth's sniper instinct kicked in and he released himself from Brennan's arms. He walked deliberately over to the door and opened it, making Chrissy topple over and onto the floor. She looked up at the figure standing above her and put on her best Booth charm smile. "Hi, Daddy!" she said sweetly. Booth laughed and picked her up.

"Hey, you little eavesdropper. What do you two think you're doing?" he asked when he noticed Travis walking shyly into the room.

"You were yelling loud," Travis said as he walked over to his mother's open arms. He buried his face in Brennan's shoulder, clearly shaken by the argument. Chrissy shifted in her father's arms so she could look him in the eyes.

"We thought you were going to get a divorce," she said seriously. Booth had to suppress his amused smile.

"A divorce? No. Mommy and I were just having a discussion." Booth looked to Brennan for some help. She sighed and looked from Travis to Chrissy.

"We were having an argument," she corrected her husband, never being one to keep the truth from her children. "But that's okay. Mothers and fathers have arguments from time to time. That doesn't mean they're going to get a divorce. Your father and I love each other very much. I promise you that an argument of this caliber would not result in a divorce." Booth shot her a look that said 'keep it at their level, Bones.' "We've made up."

"Did you _kiss _and make up?" Chrissy clarified. Booth smiled.

"Yes, Baby Girl," He promised. "We kissed and made up."

"Did you kiss Mommy like they do on TV, Daddy?" Travis asked Booth. Brennan chuckled at his shocked expression.

"Why don't we all go out for dinner tonight? The diner?" Booth suggested, avoiding his five-year-old son's question. There were excited shouts from both children. "Okay, you two go put your coats on and we'll be down in a second."

"No divorce?" Chrissy asked again just to be sure. Booth grinned at her.

"No divorce," he assured his daughter. He gave her a tight hug and put her down. "First one done gets the biggest piece of pie!" he shouted as the two of them ran down the hall.

"You handled that very well," Brennan complimented Booth when the kids were out of earshot. "Save for the last question," she added teasingly. Booth laughed and pulled her into his arms.

"You're not too bad at this parenting thing yourself, Bones. I think we're a pretty good team." Brennan smiled and gave him a quick kiss.

"We always have been, Booth."

"Always will be, Baby." With that, the pair of them left to have dinner at their diner with their family.

**Tell me what you thought of the argument. Was it in character for them? Do you think that's how Brennan would react to Booth making a decision like that without her? Tell me what you think, good or bad!**

**Oh, and this is one-shot number twenty for this fic! The time has flown by and I've been having a blast. Thank you all for reading these! You're all awesome!**


	21. Virus

Virus

"Booth, wake up!" Booth heard his wife's voice shouting for him. He groaned and snuggled deeper into the covers. "Hey!" Brennan exclaimed as she physically shook Booth awake.

"Bones, leave me alone," he groaned, his face firmly planted in his pillow.

"You're going to be late for work." Brennan took the covers and pulled them down to the foot of the bed.

"Bones!" Booth complained and grabbed the blanket, pulling it over his head. Brennan put her hands on her hips, losing her patience.

"Booth, are you sick?" she surmised. Booth shook his head.

"No, I'm not sick. I'll be down in a minute. Save me some eggs, would ya?" Brennan sighed and left the bedroom. She was pretty sure Booth would be in bed all day. She was proven right when she went to get him out of bed again after breakfast and found him asleep.

Booth woke up a couple of hours later. He glanced at the time and hollered for his wife. "Bones!" She appeared a moment later, visibly annoyed. "Why did you let me sleep so late? I have to get to work!"

"Booth, you're sick. You obviously have a fever because the bed is soaked with sweat. You need to take the day off."

"I do not!" Booth protested. "Now please, get my pants so I can go to work!"

"And you say I'm the one who will go into work with, I believe you said, 'my hair on fire.' You're staying home, end of discussion."

"What are you, my mother?" Booth said as he stuck his head under the pillow.

"Honestly, sometimes it feels like it!" Brennan retorted as she hit Booth playfully.

"Bones, don't hit me! My skin is sensitive."

"So you admit it, you are sick!"

"Okay, fine, Bones. You caught me. You happy?" Brennan sighed dramatically and left the bedroom. "Wait, Bones! Could you bring me up some eggs?"

"Yes," he heard her disembodied voice from the hall. A moment later she reappeared. "But after I feed you I have to get to the lab. Do you think you could fend for yourself for a few hours?"

"Maybe, but I like it when you play nursemaid with me." He flashed her a suggestive grin and she rolled her eyes.

"Forgive me if your fever-induced advances don't arouse me. Okay, eggs. Scrambled?"

"You know that's what I like to eat when I'm sick, Bones." Brennan smiled, she certainly did. She loved how well she knew him. Even if he was a horrible patient, she loved taking care of him. As much as she hated to admit it, she loved being needed by Seeley Booth. Almost as much as she loved needing him.

**Okay, the shortest yet, but I'm sick. Cut me some slack. :P**


	22. Amusement

Amusement

"Booth, you shouldn't have given them each their own elephant ear! I'll never be able to calm them down now," Brennan said as her husband approached her with their two youngest children.

"Oh come on, Bones. How often do they get to go to the amusement park? Let loose a little!" Brennan sighed but smiled anyway.

"Daddy, look!" Chrissy exclaimed as she pointed to the largest rollercoaster in the park. "I want to go on that one!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Booth asked rhetorically and grinned down at his little girl. "I don't think you're tall enough, Princess."

"Can we at least check? I want to tell all my friends that I went on an upside down ride!" Chrissy took off for the line, and her parents knew they had no choice but to follow the strong-willed little girl. When they got to the front they discovered that she was tall enough, just barely. "Yes! I can go on! Come on, Daddy!" Chrissy took her father's hand. Booth looked just a little pale. Brennan laughed.

"I'll go on it with you, Chrissy," she offered. "Daddy can stay here with Travis." Booth's eyes met hers in a silent 'thank you.' Chrissy shrugged and practically dragged her mother onto the rollercoaster car.

"Okay, Travis, let's watch Mommy and Chrissy go on the big ride!" Booth said as he found a bench and put the little boy on his knee.

"Daddy, are Chrissy and Mommy gonna throw up?" Travis asked with a serious look in his eyes. Booth laughed.

"I don't think so, Bud."

"Good, because it's not fun to throw up. I don't think a elephant ear would taste so good coming out." Booth scrunched his nose in mock disgust.

"Yuck! I think you're right." He noticed that the car containing his wife and daughter was starting to climb up the steep hill to the first drop. "Look, Travis! There they go!"

"Put your hands up, Mom!" Chrissy shouted as they neared the top of the hill. Brennan smiled and stretched her arms up in the air as they toppled over the steep drop. They both let out an excited scream. "Here comes the loop!" Chrissy announced, shouting over the deafening noise of the rollercoaster and screams. Chrissy gripped the safety rail tightly and leaned toward her mother instinctively. She squeezed her eyes closed and opened them again when she felt the coaster begin to lift. She closed them again when they were upside down and let out a high pitched squeal.

When the ride was over, Chrissy noticed that Parker and his girlfriend Dani had joined her father and younger brother. "Parker!" she called to him and rushed over to the bench. "Parker, I went on the big rollercoaster! I went through the loop and I didn't get sick or anything!"

"Yeah, I saw!" Parker said with a wide Booth grin. "I was just about to go on it with Dani," he said.

"Can I go with you? I want to go on it again!" Parker laughed and looked to his girlfriend. Dani shrugged.

"Why not?" she said. Chrissy smiled in anticipation and grabbed Parker's hand much like she did her mother's and dragged him toward the rollercoaster.

"I want a hotdog!" was the first thing out of Chrissy's mouth when her second rollercoaster ride was over.

"Me too," Parker agreed.

"Me three," Booth chimed in.

"I don't understand how we're not bankrupt with three Booth stomachs to feed," Brennan joked. The family was making their way toward the hotdog stand when Booth heard a honking noise beside him. He whipped around, startled. When he saw that he was nose to nose with a clown, he stumbled backwards a few steps.

"Jesus Christ!" Booth put a hand on his chest to calm his pounding heart.

"Daddy!" Travis scolded. "You said we're not supposed to say Jesus like that!" Booth looked behind him and saw that Brennan, Parker, and Chrissy were laughing uncontrollably.

"You should have seen your face, Daddy!" Chrissy managed to say through her howling laughter. When Booth's eyes locked with Brennan's, she tried to stifle her laugh. She failed miserably. Booth glared at her playfully.

"I'm sorry, Booth, but that was quite amusing." Booth looked at his eldest child sternly.

"You got something to say?" Parker just smiled and let out another hearty laugh.

"That's great, everyone just have a good laugh at my expense."

**-BONES-**

That night, Booth and Brennan were putting the kids to bed. Booth tucked the covers under Chrissy's chin and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Princess."

"You too, Daddy," Chrissy replied with a sneaky smile. Booth knew she had a zinger she was just waiting to unleash. "Don't let the clowns get you!"

"Funny, Kiddo," he said with a genuine smile on his lips. "You know, I did pretty good keeping that little fun fact from you and Trav. I toughed it out at birthday parties and circuses. But now the cat's out of the bag, huh?" Booth chuckled at himself and Chrissy followed suit.

"Daddy's scared of clowns," she said teasingly.

"You're going to be scared of Daddy in about two seconds if you don't watch it, Little Girl," he told her lightly. He gave her another kiss on the cheek and just looked at her for a moment. Chrissy was certainly Daddy's little girl. While it was true that he was wrapped around her little finger, he wouldn't have it any other way. "Goodnight, Princess. I love you."

"I love you too," Chrissy answered and rolled over to go to sleep. Booth left her room and walked to Travis'.

"Goodnight, Bud," he said as he kissed Travis on the forehead. "Sweet dreams. I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy. And don't worry. If a clown gets you, I'll save you." Booth gave his little boy a look and kissed him on the forehead again. He heard a sound behind him, and turned to see Brennan standing in the doorway, laughing. He walked out into the hallway with her and closed Travis' door behind him.

"And what are you laughing at?" he asked her.

"Oh, come on, Booth. It was very funny. You yelped."

"I did _not_ yelp!" Booth insisted.

"Yes you did!"

"No I didn't!"

"I'm quite certain that you did. You shouldn't be embarrassed. Coulrophobia is a common affliction. In fact, the majority of people will admit to…" Booth shut her up with a sudden kiss.

**We're on the home stretch! Only nine fics left! As always, tell me what you think!**


	23. Dog

**I'd like to thank the person who said they were sad that there were only nine fics left. That gave me the warm fuzzies. :P**

Dog

"Mom, look!" Ten-year-old Chrissy called as she and Travis entered the front door. Brennan looked at her daughter and stared in shock.

"He followed us home, Mommy!" Travis explained as he patted the scruffy dog's head. He was a cute dog, Brennan had to admit. He was mostly white with brown patches and had big, floppy ears. His eyes looked hollow and sad, and Brennan couldn't help but feel for the little guy.

"Can we keep him?" Chrissy asked the inevitable question.

"Chrissy," Brennan finally found her voice, "he's probably someone's pet. You wouldn't want to take a dog from another little boy or girl, would you?" Chrissy shook her head sadly. "We can keep him until we find his owner," Brennan decided. Chrissy and Travis' eyes lit up with excitement.

Kevin came down the stairs a moment later, and smiled when he saw the little dog at his siblings' feet. "Hey, check it out!" he said with a chuckle. He crouched to pet the dog, a wide smile on his face.

"Don't get too attached, Kevin," Brennan warned. "We're only keeping him until his owners are located."

"But what if he doesn't have owners, Mom?" Chrissy asked. "He doesn't _look_ like anybody owns him. He's all dirty and skinny. If he doesn't have any owners, can we keep him then?" Brennan sighed.

"I don't know, Chrissy. We'll talk about that if and when the situation arises. Right now I have to call your father and tell him to pick up some materials for the dog." Brennan walked out of the room and left her three kids to fawn over the dog. She picked up her phone and quickly dialed Booth. "Booth, I need you to pick up some dog food, a dish, and I suppose we should also purchase a collar and leash," she told him unceremoniously when he picked up. She heard him laugh on the other end.

"Any particular reason, Bones?" he joked.

"_Your_ son and daughter brought home a dog," she explained. "I told them they could keep it until we find its rightful owner."

"Oh. Sure, Babe. I can pick up a few things. You know what they're going to ask if we can't find any owners, right?"

"They've already asked. I told them we would discuss it later. I don't want a dog, Booth," she said definitively. "We only recently adopted Kevin and we still have many emotional issues to work out with him. I don't think bringing another change into the house right now is the best thing for him."

"Yeah, Bones," Booth agreed. "I'll talk to Chrissy and Travis about it. I'll be home in a couple hours."

**-BONES-**

Booth came home and was immediately greeted by Chrissy. "Daddy, you have to come see the dog!" she shouted. He chuckled and walked past her into the living room.

"Let me put this stuff down first, Princess." He put the two big bags of supplies down on the coffee table, then turned to his daughter. "Okay, lead the way." Chrissy took him by the hand and pulled him into the kitchen where the dog was lapping up water out of a bowl happily. Booth crouched and the dog lifted his head. Their eyes met and Booth's heart melted instantly. He rubbed the dog's head affectionately. "Hey, you're a cute little guy!" he cooed in his 'baby talk' voice. "Look at your little floppy ears!" Brennan walked in just as he began barking playfully at the dog.

"Booth!" she scolded. "You're worse than the kids."

"Oh, come on, Bones. Look at his little face. You can't tell me you're not powerless against that look he gives you!" Brennan rolled her eyes but smiled down at her husband.

A week passed without a word about all of the "lost dog" posters they had put up. All three of the kids were asking on a daily basis if it was time to call it quits and just adopt the still-nameless dog. Booth and Brennan decided it was time to actually have a conversation about keeping him. "You and all of the children are obviously already attached to the dog," Brennan said as they settled in for bed that night.

"You are too, Bones, admit it," Booth said with a smile. Brennan returned it, not denying his statement.

"Kevin is especially kind to the dog. He is the only one of _any _of you who actually offers to help walk and feed him. It appears that my initial assumption that it would not be a good idea for him to be around the dog was incorrect. In fact, he appears to be helping him adjust and feel more comfortable in our home."

"Tell you what, Bones," Booth said, clapping his hands together. "If you let the kids keep the dog, I promise not to be so lazy and walk him once in a while." Brennan smiled. Booth had loved playing with the dog, but when it came to actually doing the grunt work, he was worse than Chrissy.

"It's a deal."

The next morning, Booth and Brennan told the kids that they could keep the dog. To say they were excited would be an understatement. "That's really good," Chrissy said. "Because I thought of the perfect name for him!"

"Yeah, Princess? What's that?" Booth asked. Chrissy beamed and paused for dramatic effect.

"Ripley!" Booth and Brennan shared a look. What were the odds of that?

"What made you think of that name, Chrissy?" Brennan asked tentatively. Chrissy shrugged.

"I don't know. I just thought of it." Brennan looked into the dog's eyes, which were warm and reassuring, and brown. She smiled slightly at the distant memory of the dog that was almost hers so many years ago.

"It's a wonderful name."

**Eight fics to go! Tell me what you think, like always!**


	24. Moving

Moving

"That the last of it, Trav?" Booth asked as he closed the trunk of his son's car.

"Yeah, that's it," he confirmed. He turned to face his mother, who was standing beside him. He had to fight back tears when he saw that Brennan was desperate to do the same thing. "Mom, don't cry," he pleaded.

"I can't help it," Brennan said, smiling through her tears. "You're going to college today. You were accepted to Dartmouth, which is in the top ten most prestigious schools in the country." Travis laughed.

"Yeah, I know the school's reputation," he joked.

"Smart mouth. I'm just very proud of you, Travis." Travis grinned and pulled his mother into a tight hug.

"Thanks, Mom." He let go. "Excellent use of the phrase 'smart mouth', by the way." Brennan smiled and gave Travis a kiss on the cheek. Travis walked up to Booth who gave him a fierce hug.

"I'm proud of you, son." He stepped back and gave his son a look of admiration. "You've grown into a very fine young man."

"Well, I wouldn't be that way if you guys hadn't taken me in. I mean it. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't make me your son."

"You would have been just fine," Brennan's voice piped up from behind the two of them. "We are the ones who were privileged to have you in our family."

"Hey, what is this? A funeral? He's just going to college, Bones, it's not like we'll never see him again," Booth said, although he was feeling pretty depressed himself at the moment. "Well, you better get going. If you ever run out of top ramen don't hesitate to call." Travis laughed. "Or, you know, if you just want to talk."

"Yeah. I'll call as soon as I get there," he promised. He gave them each another hug then walked around to the driver's side of his car. "I love you guys."

"We love you very much, Travis," Brennan said as she felt Booth's arms slide around her from behind. She set her hands on his and he rocked her side to side as their youngest child drove off.

"You okay?" Booth asked into her ear.

"No," Brennan answered honestly. "We have an empty burrow." Booth burst out laughing.

"You did that on purpose, Bones," he said through his laughter. "You had to know that the saying was 'empty nest.' You had to."

"Yes, I did," Brennan admitted. "But I knew you would find it humorous and I think you could use a laugh right now." She felt Booth's lips press against her neck. She tilted her head to give him more room.

"Mmmm, that's what I love about you, Baby," he said as he kissed at her skin. "You always know just what I need."

"It is disheartening, though," she said as she leaned back into Booth's embrace. "I'm afraid that I am getting old."

"Old? Babe, I'm the one in his sixties. You, Bones, are a beautiful, young, sexy woman." He nibbled at her ear and she scrunched her shoulders involuntarily.

"Well, you're exactly sixty. I would say that you won't officially be 'in your sixties' until next year." Brennan sighed. "What are we, Booth?"

"What? I don't know what that means," he joked. Brennan smiled as he tightened his hug around her waist.

"Well, we haven't been professional partners since you gave up field work and were promoted to Assistant Deputy Director."

"Yeah, I know, Bones," Booth said, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Parker is grown and married, Kevin is on his own, Chrissy is studying abroad in Greece, and Travis just drove off to begin college. So we aren't parents."

"We'll always be parents," Booth promised. "You honestly think Chrissy won't have to crash with us for a while after she comes back from Greece to get back on her feet? And you know Travis is going to be asking for money by next week. They all still need us, Bones."

"That may be so, but none of them need us like they used to. We are no longer their primary caretakers. They can all take care of themselves now." Booth didn't have an argument for that one. "We're technically grandparents, but that isn't a role we fulfill every day. So if we're not partners, or parents, what are we, Booth?"

"We're us, Bones," Booth answered simply. "Just because we don't work together doesn't mean we're not still partners. We've still got a good thirty years or so to be the most important kind of partners. Partners in life. We'll retire in five or six years and I'll spend every day proving to you just how much I still love you. We'll get old and senile together and we'll be one of those cute old couples you see walking around holding hands and people will say 'I want a love like that. One that lasts forever.'" Brennan was fighting back tears for the second time that day. "Of course," Booth continued, "that's not for a long time. We're both still beautiful, young, and sexy." Brennan laughed and turned around in Booth's arms to face him.

"I love you so much," she said and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I love you too, Baby. I know empty nest syndrome can be tough, but look on the bright side. With no kids in the house we can walk around naked if we want." Brennan swatted him playfully on the arm and kissed him soundly again.

**Okay, so this one is way, way loosely based on the word, but I love it so much that I'm keeping it. :P As always, tell me what you think!**


	25. Knight

**I promise, I don't influence the words in any way, this just happened, I swear. :P**

Knight

"Hey there, Beautiful," Booth greeted when he saw the caller ID on his ringing cell phone. Brennan would normally reprimand him for being intimate during work hours, but she had more important things on her mind at the moment.

"Booth, I got a call from Travis' school," she told him. "They want us both to come down there right away. Apparently he got into a fight."

"A fight? That doesn't sound like Trav," Booth said distractedly as he rummaged around his desk for a file he had misplaced. "Are you sure there wasn't some sort of misunderstanding?"

"That was my first question. The principal said there was no room for a mistake. She saw the altercation herself." Booth sighed and stood up to pull on his jacket.

"Okay, I'm on my way to pick you up." They said goodbye and hung up. Booth rubbed a hand over his face. This was the last thing he would expect from Travis. From either Kevin or Chrissy, maybe, but not from shy, timid Travis.

Booth and Brennan walked into the principal's office to find Travis in a chair, swinging his feet and avoiding eye contact with anyone. "Mr. and Mrs. Booth," the principal greeted them. Booth was a little surprised that Brennan didn't correct her on the fact that she was a doctor and had retained her own surname after getting married. "I'm Mrs. Davis." She shook hands with each of them. "Have a seat." They sat down in the chairs on either side of Travis. There was another boy sitting in the room, arms crossed and eyes glaring at Travis.

"What happened?" Booth asked as Mrs. Davis took her seat behind the desk.

"I was walking down the hall after second lunch had finished and I found these two boys arguing," she gestured to Travis and the other boy. "I didn't catch much of the conversation because a moment later Travis struck Bradley. The fight quickly escalated from there and I had to separate the two. There's no question that Travis instigated the fight." Booth looked disapprovingly at his 11-year-old son.

"Why did you strike that boy?" Brennan asked, in a tone much more gentle than Booth was capable of at the moment. "That isn't like you, Travis." Travis didn't answer her and only continued to stare at his swinging feet.

"This is the first time Travis had gotten into trouble of any kind, but I'm afraid our school's policy leaves no room for debate," Mrs. Davis continued. "I wish there was another way to handle this but I have no choice. Travis has been suspended for the remainder of the week."

"Thank you," Booth said, still fuming. He followed Brennan and Travis out of the office.

Brennan offered to bring Travis to the lab, and Booth dropped them off. "I'll talk to him," Brennan promised. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all of this." Booth nodded, although he was still gripping the steering wheel pretty tight. Brennan leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See you at home, Booth."

"Tell me what happened," Brennan said to Travis as soon as they were in her office. He remained quiet. "Travis, if there's a reason for all of this, you should tell me. I know it isn't in your nature to hit someone without cause. So just tell me why you struck the other boy and I will determine whether or not you should be punished." Travis sighed and sat down in a chair across from his mother's desk.

"He was calling her names," he said simply. Brennan sat in her desk chair, intrigued. She waited expectantly for Travis to continue. "This girl, Amanda, she's really nice. But she's… different than the other kids. She's, you know," he struggled to find the right word, "slow." Brennan nodded in understanding. "She likes to be everybody's friend, and usually nobody has a problem with it because she really is cool. But sometimes people are mean to her. She was talking to Brad at lunch and when we all left I heard him calling her stupid and imitating her and stuff. I told him to shut up and leave her alone, but he just kept doing it. That's when I hit him and Mrs. Davis saw us." Brennan smiled, her heart swelling with pride.

"Why didn't you just tell Mrs. Davis the truth?" Brennan asked. Travis only shrugged. Brennan knew what his answer would be. He didn't think she would believe him, and of course Travis would always gladly take punishment he didn't deserve. "I would call her and straighten this out, but I suppose you would enjoy the remainder of the week off, wouldn't you?" Travis smiled despite himself.

Travis and Brennan returned home to find that Booth was already there. Travis immediately ran for his room as soon as the door opened. Brennan walked up to Booth and slid her arms around his midsection. "Well, you can be very proud of your son."

"Yeah?" Booth said with curiosity. Brennan nodded.

"You don't have to worry about him developing a tendency for violence," she assured him. "In fact, he's learned quite a lot from you."

"From me?" Booth was still a little lost. "I don't go around bopping people in the mouth." Brennan laughed.

"Maybe not," she conceded. "But you certainly do have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility for others." Booth was still waiting for her to explain. "Travis hit that boy because he was being unkind to a mentally challenged girl."

"Yeah?" Booth said again. "Well, that's my boy!"

"Yes, my pair of White Knights," Brennan joked and kissed Booth tenderly.

**Two Travis fics in a row! I think tomorrow I'll have to visit Kevin. I feel like we have some more to learn about him. :D**


	26. Heart

Heart

"What, exactly, are you doing?" Brennan asked as Booth rested his head on her chest.

"Shhh," he whispered as he pressed his ear on the area just above her breasts. "I'm listening to your heart."

"To my heart?" Brennan repeated, fighting the urge to laugh. She could tell that Booth was being deadly serious about this.

"Yeah. I've been so scared the last few days, Bones," he admitted. Brennan nodded and began caressing the back of his head as he continued to listen to the reassuring _thump, thump, thump_ of her heartbeat. "I've never felt so helpless in my entire life. Knowing that you and kids were in danger and I couldn't do anything about it."

"Booth, everything is fine now," Brennan reassured him in a soft voice. She looked around the room in which they were sitting. They both knew her assertion that everything was fine was an outright lie. Nothing could be completely fine while you tried to sleep in a hospital waiting room. Curiosity finally took over and Brennan asked, "Why are you listening to my heart?"

"Because," Booth began, pausing a moment to listen to a few more beats, "I could pick your heart out of a lineup." Brennan's brow scrunched in confusion, and although he couldn't see her face, Booth knew the exact expression she was wearing. "If I listened to a hundred different heartbeats, I could pick out yours in about ten seconds."

"That's impossible, Booth." He smiled. He could have said it along with her word for word. "Heartbeats are not dissimilar from each other. At least not enough that you would be able to ascertain which was mine from a list of one hundred."

"Oh, yes I could, Bones," he promised. "There's something special about your heart. I can't tell you what it is exactly, but it's different than all the others. And I know that if I can hear your heart beating, everything really is okay. Because it means you're still here with me." Brennan smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "The day I can't hear that sound anymore is the day I die."

"Technically," Brennan said, "that would be the day _I_ die." Booth smiled and kissed the place his head was resting tenderly.

"Same thing."

"You're speaking metaphorically," Brennan realized. "You're suggesting that if I ceased to live you would not be the same man you were. That some part of you would stop living because I had."

"Not just a part of me, Bones," Booth said quietly. "That morning was so damn normal, you know? I was running to the post office like you asked before work, then he called me. And after I hung up I thought, how could I have not known? Where was my gut when I really needed it? Nothing told me not to leave the house that morning, or to tell you and the kids to get out. It just felt… like any other day."

"Booth, don't you dare blame yourself for this," Brennan warned. Of course, she shouldn't have expected anything else. Unnecessary guilt was almost unavoidable for Booth in pretty much any situation. "You couldn't have known. You did everything you could for us, I know that. The children know that. And we're all alive. You couldn't have prevented anything that transpired in the last 72 hours." Booth sighed and shifted his position slightly. "You saved our lives, Booth. You were there. Just like always."

"I made mistakes."

"It was an incredibly stressful situation. You did what you thought was right at the time. You didn't know what the consequences would be." Booth sighed, having run out of good arguments. He only had one thing left to say.

"I love you, Bones."

"I love you too." Brennan pushed Booth off of her and made him sit upright on the small couch they were sharing. He gave her a questioning look and she answered by resting her head on his chest.

She'd heard his heartbeat a thousand times. When she cuddled against him as they fell asleep at night, when she hugged him close when she was nervous, and sometimes from feet away when he was. But this was the first time she ever actually _listened_ to it. They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before, "Booth?" He mumbled a 'hm?' to let her know that he was listening. "Your heart is special too." He wrapped an arm around her and they fell asleep for the first time in over three days.

**This one might be a little different than usual, I hope you like it! I promise that the "incident" kind of danced around in this one will be explored at some point. Maybe not in this set of one-shots specifically, but perhaps in a new fic starring the One Fluffy Month universe? Hmmmm. :P**


	27. Separation

**I was glad to see interest in a sequel of sorts to this. I look forward to writing that in the coming months!**

Separation

"Come on!" Four-year-old Chrissy hollered as she pulled her father by the hand.

"Turn around, Chrissy, watch where you're going," Booth warned. Chrissy released his hand for a moment and turned around. All too soon, they reached their destination.

"This is my classroom, Daddy!" she announced with pride. Chrissy had been going to preschool for a week, but this was the first time Booth had the chance to take her. So far he had been at work before she even woke up in the morning. She opened the door and they stepped inside.

"Good morning, Chrissy," the teacher greeted the little girl cheerfully. She then made eye contact with Booth and shook his hand enthusiastically. "Hi, you must be Mr. Booth."

"Yes," Booth answered, already feeling the sting of tears in his eyes. He fought them back desperately.

"Chrissy is an exceptionally intelligent little girl. You should be very proud of her," the teacher told him with a wide smile. Booth responded with a proud smile of his own.

"Yeah, thanks, she gets that from her mother."

"She's also very good with the other students. She's very popular and has already made several friends," the teacher went on.

"Well, she gets _that _from me," Booth joked. He looked down at Chrissy, who was tugging on his hand to get his attention. "What, Princess?"

"This is my friend Joey." He noticed the little boy who was standing next to Chrissy for the first time. "Say hi to him, Daddy!" Chrissy instructed.

"Hi," Booth said to the little boy with a small smile. He didn't respond and only continued to talk to Chrissy animatedly. Booth's eyes narrowed. He knew it was ridiculous to want to protect his little girl from a four-year-old, but Bones would tell him that it was some evolutionary thing that caused fathers to feel threatened by boys who were interested in their daughters, even if they were only two years out of diapers.

"I'm gonna go play blocks with Joey," Chrissy said and let go of Booth's hand. She quickly gripped Joey's and Booth's chest clenched. They turned to run off.

"Hey, wait a second!" Chrissy turned back to look at her father. Reluctantly, he noted. "Don't I get a kiss goodbye?" Chrissy released Joey's hand and walked up to her father. She accepted his kiss and hug, but let go of him quickly. "I love you, Baby Girl."

"Bye, Daddy." Chrissy took Joey's hand again and walked over to the blocks. Booth frowned. No 'I love you, Daddy'? He sighed as he watched his little Miss Independence build something with her new little friend. She was getting too big, too fast.

The teacher must have noticed his expression, because she gave him a sympathetic smile and said, "It gets easier." He nodded and wiped away a rogue tear that had managed to escape.

"Yeah, I hope so." He stole one more look at Chrissy and left the room before the waterworks could really start.

**-BONES-**

"I don't think I can drop Chrissy off at school anymore," Booth told Brennan as they sat on their living room couch later that evening.

"Why not?" she asked curiously. Booth shrugged. He felt just a little bit embarrassed that he was an emotional wreck and felt an unexplainable urge to smack a four-year-old boy upside the head.

"It's too much. I can't do it." Brennan just continued to stare at him. "She's not a baby anymore, Bones. She doesn't need us like she used to."

"And thank goodness for that," Brennan replied. "I for one am certainly glad that she's no longer an infant. While I loved caring for her, I'm glad that she's old enough now to be self-sufficient in some areas."

"You took her to school every day last week," Booth continued. "Weren't you even a little bit emotional about having to leave her there? Or about the fact that she was totally fine with being apart from you for a whole day?"

"Yes, of course I was, Booth," Brennan admitted. "But the fact that she was fine with going to school indicates that we have done a good job raising her. She knew we would be there when the school day ended to take her home. She also has a passion for learning and a desire for social interaction with children her own age. I'm very proud of her." Booth smiled.

"So am I." He paused, not sure if he should mention what else was on his mind. "You'll know about this. Anthropologically, is it normal for a guy to hate his daughter's friend who's a boy, even if they're in preschool?" Brennan chuckled.

"You met Joey," she surmised. Booth nodded. "Yes, it's perfectly normal. Well, it is if you don't act on those irrational feelings." Booth shot her a look that made her laugh again. "Fathers have an innate need to protect their female offspring from potential suitors. It's not something you can control. The evolutionary theory being…"

"Yeah, Bones. All I needed to know." They heard a sound coming from upstairs and their ears perked up. A moment later Chrissy poked her head over the railing.

"I had a bad dream," she announced. Brennan stood up. "No!" Chrissy insisted. "I want Daddy!" Booth stood up and made his way to the stairs. He scooped Chrissy up and carried her back to her room.

"You want to tell me about the dream?" he asked once she was settled back in her bed. Chrissy shook her head.

"No, but will you stay with me until I fall asleep, Daddy?" Booth promised that he would. "And will you rub my head like you do when I'm sick?" Booth smiled and began running his hand over her hair. Chrissy smiled contentedly and closed her eyes. Booth felt a wave of relief wash over him. She may not be a baby anymore, but she was still _his _baby, and it would be a very long time before she would stop needing him.

**As always, tell me what you think! We only have four fics left!**


	28. Name

**I can't seem to get away from Chrissy for some reason. But hey, you guys are always telling me how much you love her, so I'm only appeasing the masses. :P I hope you enjoy this fic! Only one more and then the two special Christmas fics before we sadly must say goodbye.**

Name

Booth cradled the pink bundle in his arms, his eyes gazing down in wonder. He was so proud of Brennan. She had woken him up at about four that morning to tell him that she had gone into labor. He, of course, immediately panicked and began preparing to leave for the hospital. Brennan, ever the rationalist, told him that it would take hours and they had plenty of time to get there. He paced a hole into the floor of their bedroom as he anxiously timed the contractions and asked her a million times if it was time to go yet.

Finally, she decided that labor was far enough along for them to go to the hospital. Booth was in overdrive as he rushed to put their bags and Brennan into the car before popping on the siren and speeding as fast as he dared to the hospital. Even with all the nervous waiting for things to progress, it was still another six hours before their beautiful baby girl was born.

"She's perfect, Bones," Booth whispered as he looked down at his daughter. He could swear that she was already the spitting image of her mother. He was also proud to see what seemed to be his nose in the middle of her perfect little face.

"She's beautiful," Brennan agreed. Booth smiled even wider than he was already. There was no talk about the evolutionary advantage of mothers feeing an attachment to their children or the release of hormones making her emotional. Brennan was simply happy, and perfectly willing to say that her baby was the most gorgeous in the world. The baby started to fuss a little in his arms. He moved to give her back to Brennan, but she put a hand up to stop him. "I want you to hold her for a while longer," she explained. "I find I very much like the image." Booth's grin got even goofier. "You should talk to her," Brennan suggested. "Goodness knows you talked to her enough when she was in the womb. She'll recognize your voice, it will calm her."

"What should I say?" he asked. Brennan shrugged.

"It doesn't matter. She's barely an hour old. She can't understand what you're saying anyway. Tell her who you are. Tell her about Parker. It's your voice that matters, not what you say." Booth nodded and looked back down at the baby.

"Hi, Princess." His stomach flipped as he called his little girl by the nickname. He had a feeling 'Princess' would be a name that would stick. "I'm your daddy," he said with tears clouding his vision. "I promise to keep you safe every day for the rest of my life. I'll teach you about all kinds of things. I'll teach you how to play sports and how to ride your bike, and most importantly, how to beat up boys."

"Booth," Brennan warned through her laughter. Booth looked at her with a sparkle in his eyes that made her heart skip a beat.

"We still have to pick a name," he pointed out. Brennan nodded. This had been a battle from the moment they found out they were having a girl. Each had their preferences and they couldn't for the life of them agree on a single name. "Actually, I think I have the perfect one."

"I already vetoed Abigail," Brennan warned. Booth chuckled.

"I know, Bones. I think you'll like this name." Brennan waited patiently for him to just tell her. "I think her middle name should be Elizabeth. That was my grandmother's name."

"Pops' wife?" Booth nodded.

"Yeah. She died before Pops took me and Jared in. I don't remember much about her, but everyone who knew her says that if there was ever a saint, it was her."

"I would love to honor your grandmother that way, Booth," Brennan said earnestly. Booth flashed her a wide grin.

"Thanks, Bones."

"But what about her first name?" Booth took a deep breath and walked closer to Brennan's bed. He carefully placed the baby in her arms.

"Christine," Booth whispered in her ear before straightening back up. Brennan looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears.

"Booth…" She couldn't manage to say anything else. "I… I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Booth promised.

"No, I should," Brennan insisted. "This is… just wonderful. I love you so much." Booth leaned in and kissed her softly before bending over and kissing Christine's tiny head.

"I love you more, Baby," Booth said as he stood up straight again.

"Christine Elizabeth Booth. It's a beautiful name."

"I was thinking we could call her Chrissy." Brennan nodded in approval. "Are you sure that you don't want to hyphenate her name? I mean, it's only fair. You hyphenate, and she's just as much yours as she is mine. More, even. I mean you're the one who carried her and gave birth to her. It just seems like you should have the right to give her your name."

"I've thought a great deal about this, Booth." Of course she had. "I considered hyphenating her name, but having two last names is quite a bit for a young child to handle. Also, giving her your last name exclusively is my gift to you. After all, you named her Christine. _That _seems only fair to me."

"Thank you, Bones," he said in a voice filled with so much love it sent a shiver up Brennan's spine. "So, are you ready to let the squint squad in? They're going to do some serious fawning over this little angel."

"Yes, I'm ready," she said with a chuckle. Booth gave her one more quick kiss before leaving the room to get their friends. Brennan looked down at the tiny person in her arms.

"I may not be a perfect mother," she told her in a soft tone. "But I promise to be the very best mother I am capable of being. With your father helping me, I think I may even be a great mother. However, when you are old enough to speak, I don't want you to hesitate to tell me if I have wronged you in some way. Because the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you." She paused to wipe a tear from her eye. "I love you… Chrissy."

**So, as I said, one more regular fic tomorrow and then two Christmas fics, then the end. As always, tell me what you think!**


	29. Thirty

Thirty

Brennan walked into the Jeffersonian with her 24-year-old daughter, who was back from another trip to the other side of the earth. This time it was a month in Morocco with her boyfriend of three years. "My boss said that I took some of the best pictures he's ever had the pleasure of putting in his magazine." Brennan smiled. At first when Chrissy decided to become a freelance photographer, she had to admit that she was slightly disappointed. Chrissy was such an intelligent girl, she could do anything she wanted. It, of course, had taken Booth to explain to her that taking pictures _was_ what she wanted to do. And Brennan had to admit that Chrissy captured emotion in a camera in way she couldn't describe.

"I'm very proud of you," Brennan told her sincerely. Chrissy gave Brennan a look. There was more she wanted to say and she knew it. Brennan sighed. Between her and Booth she couldn't hide a single thing. "It's just that this is the third extended trip in a year. Your father and I miss you."

"I know, but this is my job, Mom," Chrissy explained as they walked across the lab toward her office.

"And what about Daniel?" Brennan inquired.

"What about Daniel?" Chrissy asked. "He usually comes along. The only ones he doesn't come to are the trips that only last a week or two. He understands how important this job is to me. Besides, when he comes with it makes for some great togetherness time."

"I just wonder if you aren't giving too much attention to your career." Chrissy sighed heavily. She had this conversation a million times with her mother; she could practically play it back word for word in her head. Chrissy stopped her mother with a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Mom, why do we have to have this same fight every time I come home from a trip?"

"I didn't realize it was a fight," Brennan said earnestly. "I don't want you to make the same mistake I made."

"Mom, you don't honestly expect me to believe that you wish you had married Daddy when you were 24." Chrissy crossed her arms indignantly.

"I didn't know your father when I was 24."

"You know what I mean." Brennan nodded.

"Yes, I do. And you're right. I had important things to do before I married Booth. And you have important things to do before you settle down with Daniel. But I don't want you to think that photography can be or should be your whole life. You have something wonderful with Daniel. I don't want you to be blind to that like I was."

"I'm not," Chrissy promised. "We're in love with each other. Right now we're both focused on our work. But that doesn't mean that down the line we won't want to settle down, get married, have two point four kids, all that wonderful average stuff. No matter what happens, though, I'm always going to love him. I learned enough about love by watching you and Daddy my whole life. I have a pretty good example to follow." Chrissy smiled at her mother and the pair of them walked toward her office. "Oh, speak of the devil," Chrissy said when she saw the bouquet of flowers on Brennan's desk. Brennan opened the card and grinned.

_Bones,_

_Happy anniversary! It never, ever gets old, Baby._

_All My Love,_

_Booth_

**-BONES-**

"Hey, Bones," Booth greeted when he got home later that evening. He gave his wife a quick kiss and took off his jacket. "Did Chrissy get home okay?"

"Yes," Brennan answered. "Thank you for the flowers." Booth gave her a charm smile and another kiss.

"You're very welcome," he said as he plopped down on the couch. Brennan joined him and he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm confused, though," she admitted. "What exactly is this the anniversary of? I know when our wedding anniversary is. I believe it's the wrong time of year for the anniversary of our first date, or our first time engaging in intercourse with each other, because those two things were actually the same day…"

"Bones," Booth teased, blushing slightly. Then, simply, "Partners."

"Partners…" Brennan repeated, not entirely sure what he was getting at. Booth took her hand in his and looked into her eyes.

"Thirty years ago today, Angela picked you up from the airport and I set up a little run-in with a Homeland Security Officer. One case of blackmail later, a beautiful partnership was born." Brennan smiled through the tears that were forming. She leaned over and kissed Booth softly.

"We're not partners anymore, Booth," she pointed out when they parted. Booth shook his head and his grip on her hand tightened.

"Maybe not the way we were back then," he admitted. "But we're still partners, Bones. We're partners when it comes to our kids, and when it comes to our marriage. The meaning of the word has changed, but you'll always be my partner."

"Do you know that I love you?" Booth pretended to think about it for a minute.

"Yeah, I seem to remember you saying something like that once or twice," he joked. "Come to think of it, I've said that about you a few times. But I don't think I'll ever be able to say it enough. I love you."

"Mmm, I think I've said it a sufficient amount," Brennan teased. Booth rolled his eyes but he wore a wide grin on his face.

"Funny, Bones, real funny," he said sarcastically. "Come on, don't leave me hanging here!" Brennan snuggled into his shoulder.

"I love you," she said quietly, as if it was a secret just for him.

"Come on," Booth said, standing up. "I'm taking my gorgeous wife out to dinner." He offered a hand to help her up.

"Where?" she asked as she was pulled up to her feet. Booth shrugged.

"At the fanciest place in DC. We're partners, I'll put it down as a business expense." Brennan laughed as Booth grabbed her coat and ushered her out the door.

**Tell me what you think, just like always! Only two days left. I'm going to miss this so much!**


	30. Crash

Crash

"Are we there yet?" Booth's grip on the steering wheel tightened and he looked at his daughter in the rearview mirror.

"I swear, Christine, if you ask me that one more time Santa will skip our house," he warned with a seriousness in his eyes that scared the girl into silence.

"What about me?" Travis asked in that impossibly sweet voice of his. "I haven't been bad like _Chrissy_. Santa is still coming to give me presents, right?" Booth sighed and smiled despite himself.

"Yes, Travis. Santa will still bring you presents if you keep being a good boy until you go to sleep tonight." Brennan shot her husband a look. They had countless arguments over whether or not to tell the kids that there was a Santa Claus. Booth won in the end, and Brennan had to admit that it did help their behavior in the winter months.

The family was driving home from a Christmas Eve visit to Pops at the nursing home. He was in his mid-nineties now, but was still doing incredibly well and was very healthy for his age. The kids adored their Pops and would have insisted they spend the night with him if Santa weren't on his way.

"Christmas is stupid," Kevin piped up as he gazed out the window. Booth and Brennan exchanged a look. Kevin had only been living with them for a few months and they were still having a lot of problems with him. "Chrissy is going to get all the good stuff anyway, Travis. No matter how bratty she is. So it doesn't even matter if you're good or not."

"We've have this discussion a hundred times, Kevin," Brennan said, automatically exhausted with this behavior they got from him day in and day out. "All three of you will receive gifts that add up to the same monetary value. We do not quantify our love for the four of you by who is and who is not genetically related to us."

"We love you, Kevin," Booth chimed in. "And someday, you're going to know it." Kevin sighed dramatically and went back to looking out the window.

Booth never saw it coming. They were driving down a road in the middle of nowhere just outside of DC. They hit the patch of black ice going entirely too fast and the car was out of control. They spun and Booth fought desperately to keep them on the road. He failed and they careened into the trees and deep snow on the hill just off to the side. Chrissy and Travis were screaming and Booth wasn't sure if his heart rate would ever return to normal.

"Is everyone okay?" Booth called after they had finally stopped. All three of the kids confirmed that they were fine. Booth looked to Brennan and reached to touch her shoulder when he saw that she was obviously distraught. "You okay, Bones?" he asked with his voice filled with fear and concern. She nodded after a moment.

"Yes," she assured him. "I just have to catch my breath. You're certain you're all unharmed?" Everyone answered in the affirmative. Booth tried to start the car, but only got a pitiful sputtering for his efforts. He swore under his breath and left the car to check the damage.

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" Booth asked rhetorically when he got back in the driver's seat. "We're stuck at the bottom of a hill with no cell service on a road that maybe one car goes down every two hours." There was a long moment of silence.

"Worst Christmas ever!" came Chrissy's call from the backseat, which sent everyone into a fit of giggles. That broke the ice for the rest of the night.

**-BONES-**

Two hours later, the family was on their third round of "Guess That Christmas Song", and Booth was leading by a margin of five points. The last two hours had been fun and surprisingly, they were all in good spirits. "Okay, this is a hard one," Booth said when it was his turn. He began humming the tune and the others in the car just sat in a confused silence.

"Put One Foot in Front of the Other," Kevin answered. They all stared at him. It was the first time he had spoken since the car crashed. "It's from the Santa Claus is Comin' To Town special. My… my Mom and Dad used to watch it with me every year. Maybe… I could show Chrissy and Travis if they've never seen it before." Brennan smiled and turned in her seat to look at her newest son.

"I haven't seen it either," she told him. "I think we would all like that very much." Travis returned her smile. Brennan was the only one he had connected with in any way so far. She was the only one who could coax that beautiful smile out of him. "It's your turn to pick a song." Kevin shook his head at first, but soon gave into the game and began humming, perhaps even enthusiastically.

"I know that one!" Chrissy announced. "Grandpa Max sings it! That's 'Marshmallow World.'"

"You got it, Chrissy," Kevin confirmed, giving her a bright smile. That had certainly never happened before. If Kevin hated the rest of them, he _detested_ Chrissy, because she was Booth and Brennan's "real" kid. "Your turn."

"I'm catching up to you, Daddy!" Chrissy warned. "Get ready to eat my dust!" Everyone roared with laughter.

"It's past midnight!" Booth announced. "Merry Christmas everbody!"

"Merry Christmas!" the other four shouted in unison. Kevin leaned forward suddenly and planted a kiss on Brennan's cheek. She stared at him for a moment with a stunned and grateful look in her eyes. Just then, they heard a car approach. By some miracle, it stopped. A man called down to them and asked if they needed help. They said they did, but all of them secretly wanted to stay in the car for a little while longer. Looking back, they would all attest that it was the best Christmas they could remember.

**Merry Christmas Eve to all my readers who celebrate it! I hope you liked this fic. I really wanted Kevin to star in another one before the end, and I hope you liked what I did in this one. Of course, as always, tell me what you think!**


	31. Luck

**So, I was wondering what I wanted to do for the very last fic in this little series and I thought, why not go full circle? So, this one takes place exactly a month after the very first chapter, "Dot." Enjoy!**

Luck

"When do you think they'll start getting here?" Booth asked as he slid the ham into the oven. Brennan shrugged as she continued to toss her salad. Normally Booth would be furious that Rebecca had yet again stolen Parker away at Christmas, but while he was upset, everything just seemed right with the world.

"Any minute now," Brennan answered. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle, resting his hands on her still-flat belly. He planted a kiss on her neck and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Have you decided whether or not we're gonna tell people tonight?"

"You still think we shouldn't," Brennan pointed out as she tilted her head to allow Booth more room to kiss her neck over and over.

"It's bad luck to tell people before the first trimester is over." And before she had the chance to argue about superstition, he added, "And I like having this little secret between us. All night we can exchange meaningful looks and nobody will know but us." Brennan sighed and leaned back into his embrace.

"Okay," she conceded. "Now get off of me. I still have a lot of work to do before people start arriving." Booth stuck his bottom lip out dramatically and released his wife.

A few minutes later, their first Christmas guests arrived. Booth opened the door to Angela and Hodgins with their two-year-old daughter Sierra in tow. "Hey, come on in!" he greeted enthusiastically. "And look at this little angel. Doesn't she look so pretty?" he cooed to the little girl in her mother's arms. He reached out to hold her and Sierra gladly clung to him. She loved her Uncle Booth and Auntie Brennan. Booth was bursting with the news that she would soon have a little playmate, but he contained himself. "Is Santa going to bring you all kinds of presents, Sierra Girl?" The toddler nodded enthusiastically.

"Daddy says I been a good girl!" she exclaimed happily.

"You're always a good girl," Booth agreed. He gave her a kiss and passed her off to Brennan, who was waiting expectantly.

"You look wonderful, Sierra." Sierra beamed at Brennan. Angela often joked that if Sierra could choose between them for who she wanted to be her mother, she would pick Brennan. Brennan gave Booth a look and his face lit up. She realized they just had one of those 'meaningful looks' he was talking about earlier.

"It's nice to see you too, Sweetie," Angela joked. Brennan gave her friend an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Angela, Hodgins. Hello. Merry Christmas."

"So, are we the first ones here?" Hodgins asked. Booth put a friendly hand on his shoulder.

"Yep. Come on, I'll get you a beer while we wait for everyone else." Hodgins followed Booth into the kitchen, leaving the three ladies alone.

"She's growing very rapidly," Brennan observed. Angela smiled proudly at her little girl and Brennan's thoughts automatically turned to the little life that was growing inside of her.

"Yeah, I still can't believe that now when I ask her a question I actually get an answer." Brennan chuckled and put the squirmy little girl down. She immediately sped for the kitchen to find her daddy and uncle. The doorbell rang and Brennan answered it. She was assaulted with a warm hug from her father.

"Hi, Dad," she greeted, a little stunned by the sudden hug. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Tempe," he said with a wide grin. "Where's that husband of yours?" he asked when they parted.

"He's in the kitchen with Hodgins."

"Oh, man talk! I'll see you ladies later." Max excused himself into the kitchen. Soon, the remaining guests arrived. Among them were Russ, Amy, and his girls as well as Pops, Jared, and Padme along with their newborn baby boy.

The group exchanged gifts and shared a lot of laughs. Sierra fawned over Jared and Padme's baby the entire evening, and at the moment was kissing his head as he drifted off to sleep. Booth leaned over and whispered in Brennan's ear. "Sierra is a good unofficial cousin. I hope we have a little girl so they can be best friends."

"Just like me and Angela," Brennan finished the thought. Booth nodded and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"You feeling okay?" he asked with a tenderness and concern in his voice that made Brennan's heartbeat quicken. He knew that she had been struggling with nausea and fatigue the last few days and he didn't want her to overdo it today.

"Yes, I'm fine," she answered honestly. She was a little queasy, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Booth nodded, knowing that he would notice if she wasn't feeling well. He planted a kiss to her temple.

"I love you, Baby," he whispered in her ear before pulling away from her. Angela appeared from the kitchen and addressed the room.

"We're ready for desert in here, so come and grab it whenever you want." As Brennan was deciding which desert she wanted, her eyes kept coming back to the apple pie Pops had brought. (For Booth, mostly) She hated her fruit cooked, but sometimes babies chose what they chose and Brennan dished herself a big piece. She sat next to Booth at the table and dug in. He gave her an incredulous look.

"Cravings, I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear. "I'll be sure to save you plenty. I know you'll want to eat it for breakfast in the morning."

"You don't like pie, Brennan," Angela pointed out. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. She and Booth were always touching each other, but tonight they seemed especially attached at the hip. Plus, there was the constant whispering between the two of them. In addition to that, the week before at the lap she could tell that the body had made her sick to her stomach. And the pie. The pie had given it away. "You're pregnant!" she announced suddenly. Booth and Brennan exchanged a look, and agreed without saying a word that there was no point in denying it. All eyes were on them and Booth stood up.

"Yes," he confirmed. "Bones is pregnant." He ignored the excited squeal coming from Angela. "She's eleven weeks along. We were going to wait to tell all of you, but I guess it's out now. We're having a baby!"

Everyone began congratulating them and chattering excitedly. "Bren, you _have_ to let me throw you a baby shower!" Angela told her. Of course, that would be the first thing Angela thought of. Max gave her a tight hug and told her how excited he was to be a Grandpa. Jared and Russ, who had become fast friends when they met, were basking in the prospect of being uncles together and bickering jokingly over who would be the most loved between them.

Amongst all this chaos, Pops had taken Booth over to the side and was doling out advice, just as he had when Booth found out that Rebecca was pregnant with Parker. This advice was different, though. Instead of being about how to be a good father, it was about keeping Brennan happy and being there for her every step of the way. Booth listened with the kind of respect that was reserved only for his grandfather and a select few other people. As Pops finished and gave Booth a warm hug, Booth looked around at his family, both blood related and chosen. His eyes locked with Brennan's. She wore an expression he had never seen on her face before and he felt an overwhelming desire to keep it there forever. In that moment, he felt like the luckiest man on earth.

**So that's it! The end! Thank you all so much for reading and leaving me all the fabulous reviews. I admit that I only reply to a few of them, usually only when I'm asked a question. However, I read and appreciate every single one. In just a short while, the "sequel" of sorts will be posted. The first chapter is already mostly written, but unlike these, it'll go through edits and re-readings and all that good stuff. In the meantime, read my other fic "My Love Always" if you don't mind angst.**

**Thank you all once again for joining me on this crazy experiment. This was a fabulous first foray into Bones fanfic and I hope to stay here for a long, long time!**


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